Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
by Laqualassiel
Summary: Shanks knew who he was the moment he laid eyes on him. It's the card Ace holds that nearly gives Shanks a heart attack.
1. Chapter 1

_Knight of Pentacles, upright - Efficiency, hard work, responsibility..._

* * *

 _1519, Marine Headquarters_

There were very few things that scared Commodore Bogard.

He'd spent years under the command of Vice Admiral Garp, and after surviving battle after battle against the Pirate King himself…

Well, there wasn't much scarier than Gol D. Roger.

The blonde marine storming his way was certainly making an effort though. Bogard pulled his hat lower, resisting the sudden urge to sigh. _Someone's really in for it now…_

"Sir." He saluted. Best find out which idiot they needed to point her at, and get the unpleasantness over with all that much sooner. "Anything I can help you with, Rear Admiral?" Even if he didn't know exactly who to send her after, he could direct her to someone who would.

Brown eyes cut his way in a blistering glare. Long familiarity with the woman meant Bogard didn't even twitch. "Commodore. Where might I find Vice Admiral Garp?"

Oh dear.

Each syllable was ground out with utmost precision, and Bogard nearly winced at the ice practically coating her words. What the hell had Garp done to piss her off this bad?! And when? She'd been halfway across the Grand Line the past six months chasing after Red Hair Shanks!

"He should be in his office, sir." Bogard admitted without an ounce of guilt. There was a lot he'd do for Garp. Traverse the New World? Fine. Face down the Roger Pirates? Sure. Get between the Rear Admiral about to blow her top and the man that had pissed her off? Nope.

Garp got himself into this one. He could get himself out.

* * *

The door slammed open with a sharp _bang!_

A young marine flinched violently, sending the papers in his arms scattering across the floor. Normally Noir would feel bad about that; paperwork was a pain even when it was perfectly organized and straightening out that mess was going to be a bitch and a half. At the moment though, Noir didn't any fucks left to give.

"Out." She ordered. The marine squeaked and fled. Noir shut the door behind him and locked it. This was not a conversation she wanted overheard.

Opposite the door, Garp brightened from behind a paperwork-laden desk. "Noir!" Faster than was fair for a man his size, Garp was out of his seat and clapping an enormous hand to her shoulder. Noir braced herself, and only a quick application of Haki kept her from kissing the floor.

"It's good of you to visit your old commanding officer." Garp said, already across the room again and rummaging through a cabinet. He sighed fondly. "Pity you aren't on my crew anymore. You're one of the best Marines I've ever worked with!"

With ease of considerable practice, Noir ignored the sake and rice crackers Garp pulled out. "Garp-" Noir tried.

"How's that pirate of yours?"

Noir managed not to grind her teeth together. That particular joke had gotten old _years_ ago. The veteran Marines were long used to Garp calling Shanks variants of 'Noir's pirate,' since Garp had been doing it for a near two decades.

Sengoku's spit take when Garp first said it in front of him was a memory Noir would always treasure. The following conversation? Not so much. She'd spent an hour convincing the Fleet Admiral that _no,_ she did not have any intentions for Shanks other than seeing him in Impel Down. Kizaru _still_ wouldn't let her live that down.

"Not my pirate." She counters sharply. It's futile, she knows, but it'll only get worse if she doesn't deny it. "And he's elusive as ever."

The damn Yonko had been two islands ahead of her the entire time he was in Paradise. Noir's crew would need more preparation to face the Red Hair pirates in the New World.

Garp chuckled. "Back in my day, it was the man that chased a woman."

If looks could kill, Garp would be on fire.

"I met a young man while hunting Shanks." Noir stated. If she let Garp continue, he wouldn't stop for hours.

Of course, easier said than done. "Oh? Cheating on Shanks?"

"He's seventeen," Noir said flatly. "And called himself Portgas D. Ace."

Garp choked on his sake.

 _That answers that question_. Brown eyes narrowed furiously. Noir curled her hands into fists to keep herself from throwing something. "You told me he was dead," She snarled, low and guttural. "When Rouge died, you told me her son died with her!"

Garp glanced towards the closed door, his Haki flexing. Noir knew he wouldn't sense anyone within earshot. She had her own Observation stretched across the entire floor, and the closest was Bogard halfway down the hallway.

"I was asked to protect Ace." Garp said slowly.

Since when was _Noir_ a threat to Ace? "You've been doing a _wonderful_ job," Noir snapped, "given you've been _halfway across the world._ "

Ace's face flashes across her eyes, with that _lost_ expression. What kind of childhood did he have to put such an expression on his face?

"You lied to me." Noir said. "You had no right." Her chest ached. She thought she could _trust_ Garp, _had_ trusted him.

"I'm sorry." Garp slumped, aging ten years before her eyes. His apology was genuine. She could feel it in his Haki.

Noir shook her head. Sorry didn't change anything. "Good day, Vice Admiral."

She turned on her heel and left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dedicated to the lovely Suzukimana597, MomoTheDreamer, and my amazing beta ghostperson, for leaving awesome reviews.**

* * *

 _The Empress, upright - Motherhood, fertility, nature..._

* * *

 _2 Months Earlier_

The bar was by far cleanest she'd seen in the past six months. Which on second thought was really damn depressing.

Noir supposed she shouldn't be surprised. A lot of pirates, for all that they might bitch about it, would choke down almost any swill they could get their hands on. Shanks being the exception, but the red haired menace was an absolute _snob_ about his alcohol.

Marines, especially officers, usually had higher standards when it came to their drinking. The island was a popular spot for Marine vessels to resupply. There were a large number of bars and brothels to cater to sailors, from more casual gambling dens to high class restaurants and breweries.

Her crew was currently enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation while the ship resupplied and checked for any needed maintenance missed at sea. The officers trudged further into the city to find alcohol not usually stocked in the galley. Meanwhile, Noir had shrugged out of her uniform and found the most crowded gambling den near the docks. They'd chased Shanks for months now. trying to catch up to him before he left Paradise and escaped back into the New World. Experienced Noir's crew might be, but they had a few crewmembers that were not ready to handle that level of danger. Not while facing a Yonko.

Four months chasing the Red Force with no luck meant Noir was beyond frustrated, and more than willing to take it out on several unlucky bastards by relieving them of significant amounts of beri.

The veteran gamblers knew better than to play more than a few rounds with her. But there was no shortage of arrogant youngsters who hadn't yet learned when to cut their losses and limp away with what little pride they had left. Noir's current round of opponents likely wouldn't last much longer. Too stubborn and definitely not sober enough.

In the brief lull of chatter, she heard the door open. Noir glanced sideways through her curtain of hair and almost inhaled her rum.

Standing in the doorway was a bit of Noir's past she'd tried very hard to bury.

Noir would never be able to forget Gol D. Roger's face.

The boy - and by the deep blue sea he couldn't be much older than she was when she enlisted - took one of the empty seats at the bar. She couldn't see much of him, but what glimpses Noir was able to catch as the night wore on showed a steadily increasing mountain of plates scraped clean. Well, that was an appetite Noir remembered well. Rouge would've let Roger eat her out of house and home if Roger hadn't always brought enough food to fill the larder four times over. For all Noir hated the Pirate King, she could grudgingly admit Roger had been nothing short of a gentleman to Rouge.

But Noir doubted the boy - Ace, it _had_ to be, Noir didn't think she could take it if it wasn't him - had enough beri on him to pay the towering bill.

Dammit, she was such a bleeding heart.

"Didn't take you for a cradle robber, Card Shark." One of her opponents commented. He eyed the dark haired youth with an appreciative look. "Attractive youngster though."

Noir sneered. No. _Hell_ no. "Are you particularly attached to your remaining beri?" She almost snarled.

The man winced. He decided to cut his losses and left, steps a bit too quick to be casual. Served him right. Noir was probably twice the kid's age! That kind of insinuation was _disgusting_.

The rest of the gamblers took that as their cue to rescue their remaining beri. Noir sighed in disappointment. Well, they had to learn sometime.

Her winnings disappeared into a coat pocket, with a generous tip left for the dealer. Noir made her way through the throng of patrons to the bar and blinked at the stacks of plates that were _still growing_. She could already hear her wallet crying.

The bartender peaked through a narrow window between two stacks of dishes. "Leaving already?"

Noir huffed with amusement. "I've got work in the morning. I'll take a couple bottles of that excellent rum. Put it on the rest of my bill." She flicks a pointed glance at the kid, and the look of relief on the bartender's face is nicely obscured from the other patrons. She had a reputation to uphold - it kept the number of idiots that tried to flirt with her down.

Fortunately, the kid seemed to be slowing down. The kitchen workers were going to have a hell of a job cleaning up as it is. Whoever raised this kid missed a few lessons in manners and dining etiquette. And that shouldn't hurt as much as it did.

Noir needed to know. Those were _Rouge's_ freckles on _Roger's_ face. But that couldn't, _shouldn't_ be possible.

Rouge's son was dead. He was supposed to be dead.

Noir was going to strangle Garp.

* * *

Ace was not oblivious to the gaze boring into his back. He knew he was attracting attention, but dammit he was hungry, and this wasn't the same awed stare as the rest.

Instinct honed from the forest around Dadan's enabled Ace to keep general track of that gaze without turning around. He'd learned the hard way that actively trying to find where they were hiding only clued them into the fact that stealth had likely failed. Whereas pretending obliviousness meant Ace kept an element of surprise.

Besides, this food was really good.

He finally saw the source of the stare - it felt… shocked? - as he worked on his last several plates. The woman was tall - taller than Ace by several inches. She had long blonde hair and wore a black trench coat. Ace wasn't very good at guessing age, but he thought he was safe in thinking the woman to be about a decade older than him.

He kept half an ear on her conversation with the bartender. Not that it was much of a conversation. A handful of words from each of them, before the blonde accepted a bag of alcohol and left.

"Who was that?" Ace asked the bartender.

A patron to his left snorted. "You must be a rookie." He said. "Everyone in the Grand Line has heard of Card Shark Noir."

Ace's pulse quickened. "Is she dangerous?" Could he have finally found a challenge?

Everyone in earshot roared with laughter. One patron fell off his stool. Ace's eyebrow twitched. Assholes. It was a serious question!

"Alright, kid. Listen up," the bartender said. Ace stomped down on his irritation. They were giving him information. Ace could correct them later. He wasn't a kid dammit! "Three things you need to know about Noir. First, don't play more than a few rounds of cards with her. She's got the devil's own luck and you will lose all your money. Second, don't interrupt her drinking. Noir gets _mean_. Third, don't flirt with her. Noir has gelded idiots in the past."

Watch his money, don't interrupt her drinking, and don't flirt. Easy enough to remember. Which was all well and good, but not exactly what Ace wanted to know about the woman. "Is she strong though?" He insisted. He hadn't had a serious fight since Loguetown.

The bartender eyed him with the same look Makino had when she wasn't certain if Ace was being serious. "Kid, a rule of thumb here in the Grand Line. Don't challenge anyone with a title unless you've got one yourself. This ain't the Blues."

The patron who fell scoffed. "A title won't help. Not when she regularly clashes with Red Hair Shanks!"

Ace stared. The woman was strong enough to take on a Yonko? Damn. He'd wait to challenge her then. His crew hadn't been in the Grand Line for even a month yet. After they hit the New World? Ace could track her down then. And maybe he could persuade Shanks to part with some more information on her.

"You need anything else?" The bartender asked. Ace shook his head. He was quite comfortable actually. He leant back in his seat and glanced around. There were too many patrons between him and the door, but if he was fast Ace could make it out through the window.

"Your bill's paid for." The bartender said. Tensed at the word 'bill,' Ace screeches to a halt before he's even moved. Confused, because Ace sure hadn't paid, Ace stares at the bartender. The man's occupied though, clearing the bar of Ace's used plates.

Ace left while he could, in case the bartender hadn't been talking to him. It was a strange feeling, not having to run.

He was walking back to the docks, whistling a merry little tune that would have Makino scolding him if she heard the lyrics, when a voice came out of fucking nowhere. Ace dropped into a crouch, dagger in hand and eyes scanning for the source.

It was the woman - Card Shark Noir. She was leaning against the wall of a building, partially obscured by the shadow of the alleyway. She didn't look ready to attack. In fact her body language was downright casual, so Ace relaxed.

Then her words - _"You're as reckless as your father."_ \- finally registered.

Ace almost snarled. He was _nothing_ like that man! But he grabbed onto his temper with both hands. His parentage was Ace's best kept secret, and Ace wasn't going to let some random woman blow it out of the water.

"You must be mistaken," Ace said, pulling out the charming smile he learned from Sabo all those years ago. "We've never met." Of this he was certain. Ace would remember a woman that tall from Dawn, because he'd never met a woman close to Dadan's height on the small island.

Noir smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "You're a near clone of your father, back when he was your age." Ace twitched. Shit, he knew he looked like the bastard. If she had known the man... "I advise against facial hair," Noir said. She paused, scrutinizing him. "Are you even old enough to shave yet?"

The hell- "I'm seventeen!" Ace growled. What the fuck was with everyone thinking him a damn kid?

"Barely, then." Noir smirked.

Ace opened his mouth to snap a reply, but Noir suddenly moved, pulling Ace into the alley. Flailing, because he'd almost face planted into her chest and _what the hell was that for?_

Footsteps sounded, the sharp staccato of Marine boots marching in time. Two Marines passed the alley, without even a glance towards where Ace and Noir hid in shadow.

Ace pulled freed of the grip on his arm as soon as it was safe. He glared at the blonde. While somewhat glad for avoiding a run in with the Marines, Noir was confusing as hell and grating on his nerves. "I don't know who you think I am, but you've got the wrong person."

He turned to leave. If he was lucky, Deuce would have everyone back at the ship in short order. He wanted everything ready to leave first thing in the morning. Ace was so glad now that it only took the log pose an hour to reset on Birs.

"Portgas D. Ace." Noir's voice stopped Ace cold. "Son of Portgas D. Rouge and a man better left unnamed."

Ace spun to face Noir, heart pounding. How the hell did she know that? _No one was supposed to know that._ "How?" He demanded.

Noir's expression was sad. "Rouge and I were the best of friends. She and your father practically raised me."

Shit. This was not how Ace wanted this conversation to go. "The man you're thinking of died years before I was born." He argued. That should work-

"And Rouge was three months pregnant."

Or not.

He wasn't going to fool Noir, Ace realized. He would either have to kill her, or hope she wouldn't tell anyone else. From what the bartender and patrons had implied, trying the former would only get him killed instead.

And well, Ace didn't want to kill her. Not that much, at least. Here was a unique opportunity. Noir had never met Ace, but she'd known his parents. Garp hadn't known Rouge, and he'd never told Ace much about the Pirate King. Ace took a deep breath. "What did you think of my father?" He asked.

Noir frowned, obviously not expecting that question. "I hated him." She said after a moment. "I still do, to be honest. He got my sister killed."

Ace grimaced. That was not a great start. Still, in for a hundred beri, in for a thousand. "And me?"

That earned him a strange look. "You are your own person. Who your parents are don't matter, unless you let it."

Bullshit. "You don't think I never should have been born?" Ace challenged. There was no way Noir could think otherwise. "That I should die like that man?"

The way Noir froze at that did not bode well. In the ensuing silence, Ace prepared himself for the worst. "Only two people can decide if a child should be born." Noir finally said, each word falling with precision. Her face could have been chiseled from stone. "I don't know about your father, but Rouge died to protect you from the Marines."

Ace knew that. He also knew the Pirate King asked _Garp_ to protect his child. The man's rival! And yet... his father was the _Pirate King_. One of the most hated men in history.

"The question you should be asking," Noir said, face softening into a thoughtful expression, "is do _you_ believe you deserve live?"

Ace choked in surprise. What? "But everyone always-"

"I'm not everyone." Noir scowled, the strangely familiar expression niggling something in Ace's memory. "Why does everyone else's opinion matter? I doubt they know anything."

He didn't have an answer for that. But... he could admit it was a good question. Why did everyone's opinions matter to him? And why did not knowing the answer - to either question - make him so uncomfortable?

Noir's voice turned gentle. "If you must ask, ask those whose opinions you care about."

He already had. Sabo - Sabo never cared. He'd understood what it was like, having a parent hated by everyone around him. And Luffy, well, the brat loved anything having to do with the Pirate King. He didn't count. Ace hadn't asked Dadan, but the bandit had raised him, helped him rescue Sabo and Luffy from Bluejam. He didn't think Makino knew, and Garp's answer hadn't exactly been helpful.

When he turned his attention back to Noir, it was to find an empty alley. Ace glanced around, trying to find her, but it was if she'd never been there at all. A chill slipped down his spine. That took some serious skill.

A glare of light drew his attention to the ground. It was a playing card, with a black design on the back Ace had never seen before. Curious - had she dropped it? - Ace picked it up.

It was an ace of spades. One of the most subtle yet blatant acknowledgements of Ace and his crew that Ace had ever seen.

He was definitely going to challenge her eventually.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm not usually one for author's notes, but this is something that needs to be said. Readers, I implore you to leave reviews. The favorites and follows are nice, don't get me wrong. But it's the reviews that really motivate and inspire authors to continue writing a particular fic, even if it is a short 'I really liked this chapter.'**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dedicated to Marie3021 for her lovely review of Chapter 2.**

* * *

 _Two of Wands, reversed - Fear of change, playing safe, bad planning..._

* * *

 _September 1519_

Another bar, another round of cards. Greasy food guaranteed to give the unwary a heart attack and shitty alcohol almost strong enough to use as industrial metal cleaner. No where near the standard Noir preferred in an establishment. Given Birs was a tiny ass island in the middle of the Grand Line, there weren't exactly a lot of options.

"You should let your hair down more."

At the sudden appearance of the Yonko, the entire table _flinched_. Noir didn't even twitch, having felt his Haki approaching the moment the Red Force neared the docks. At least he'd ditched the awful eye searing green pants. Not that the current purple ones were much better, but Noir didn't feel the urge to locate the nearest pair of sunglasses. As the dealer dealt Shanks in, Noir pinned her long time rival with an unamused look.

"If you ruin my vacation, Red Hair, I will punt your ass into the Calm Belt."

He raised his hand in surrender. "Wouldn't dream of it."

The look Noir gave him clearly called bullshit, but the Marine only huffed and returned to her cards.

Silence lapsed between them, the eye in a hurricane of revelry.

It figured Noir would finally find Shanks while on vacation, as opposed to the months long chase where she'd run into Ace, the red headed scoundrel. What the hell was he doing on Birs anyway? Actually, Noir didn't want to know. She was on vacation for the first time in _years_ dammit.

"You're wearing the clip." Shanks noted, eying the red hibiscus in Noir's blonde hair.

Noir shrugged. "It keeps my hair out of my face."

The damn pirate smirked at her. "A hair binder would do a better job, I think."

Noir knew that. She also knew that Shanks was trying to get her to admit she liked his gift, given to her after her promotion to Rear Admiral. But his ego didn't need the boost. "I suppose I could use one instead." She said easily, raising a challenging brow.

"No, no." Shanks backpedalled. "You look pretty."

"Flattery isn't going to stop me when my vacation is over."

Shanks pouted, actually _pouted_ at her. "Can't I compliment a beautiful woman?"

"You've done more than that, you blasted seadog." Noir groused, thinking back to their clash in early 1511. Shanks roared with laughter, so Noir vindictively swiped the pot with a royal flush.

"Dahahaha!" Shanks tossed a few beri on the table to start the next round. "I recall you tried to take my head after that. So rude!"

Noir accepted her cards, and immediately discarded two. "You need to get your memory checked. I'd been trying to take your head long before you kissed me." Garp had a _field day_ when he heard that particular report. Noir had seriously considered requesting a transfer to South Blue if only to get away from the jokes.

"I was just stating my interest."

How many times had he been hit on the head to have lost this many brain cells? "You wouldn't be able to handle me."

"Dahaha! You'd be surprised at what I can handle." Shanks grinned. "And what Yonko would I be turning that kind of challenge down?"

Noir paused, and ran the last bit of conversation through her head. "Fuck."

* * *

Shanks could admit flirting with Noir was akin to playing with fire over a keg of gunpowder. Dangerous, and highly liable to blow up in his face. Still, twenty years of experience had to count for something, and as he'd told Benn over the years, completely worth it. Noir's reactions alone were hilarious, but her crew and fellow Marines? _Priceless._

He hadn't lied to Noir. The kiss all those years ago _was_ Shanks stating his interest. The lack of kisses since was one part self-preservation - Noir _had_ almost taken his head off for that stunt - and two parts continued affection for the Marine. But Noir had made it clear that she would not accept further advances, so Shanks would respect that and limit himself to words.

Noir made him pay for his flirting by cleaning him out of every last beri on him. Not that Shanks regretted it. Her cheeks still turned the most fetching shade of crimson, though he had to work a bit harder to get Noir to blush than when they were teenagers.

"A bottle of vodka and whatever you've got that isn't complete shit." Noir told the bartender. The bartender, an aging man with a large belly and larger arms, gave the blonde a filthy look but disappeared into the back.

Shanks grinned. "Dahaha! You _do_ like me!"

"What makes you think the second bottle's for you?" The bartender returned, setting two bottles of liquor in front of Noir, who handed over the wad of beri that once rested in Shanks' pocket. "Buy your own drinks." Noir said, ignoring the fact he didn't currently have the means.

Regardless, she slid the second bottle his way, and Shanks examined the label. Scotch, and a top shelf bottle too - he remembered seeing this brand at a bar a few months ago. A Haki enhanced thumb broke the seal with ease, and he popped the cap free. Ooh, _very_ nice. He'd have to stock up on this one for a special occasion.

Noir tipped her vodka back and Shanks hid a wince. How she could drink that he didn't know, but the woman had to have a strong stomach.

Setting his own bottle down, Shanks turned to face Noir. The Marine paused in her attempts to get absolutely shit-faced - because that was the only reason Shanks could think of for even _considering_ drinking that - at the rare serious expression on his face. The cards and drinks were great, but they weren't the reason he'd tracked Noir to this little island.

"I ran into your nephew." Straight to the point, just how Noir liked it. Noir straightened in her seat. Shanks smiled fondly. "The resemblance is uncanny."

He'd known, upon seeing the brat, exactly whose son Ace was. There were subtle differences of course, but to those who knew him well, it was like seeing a younger version of Shanks' old captain.

Noir's eyes - the same as Ace, no matter his were molten silver to her dark mahogany - softened. "I told him not grow a mustache." She admitted. Shanks barked out a laugh. Oh yeah, he could see it. Ace would definitely look like his father then. "What did he want?"

Sometimes Shanks forgot how sharp Noir was. She knew Shanks wouldn't have gone to find Ace, because Shanks hadn't even known about the brat before Ace tracked him down. And given the likelihood of Ace simply stumbling across Shanks so soon after reaching the New World…

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "He wanted to thank me."

Luffy had a brother. His captain's boy and his little Anchor were brothers!

"Did it have anything to do with you losing your arm?" Noir asked, eyeing the grin pulling at Shanks' lips. "You never did tell me how you lost it."

Shanks winked. "I've always been a bit distracted when you're around, darling." He couldn't help but laugh as Noir scowled at him. Deflection, success. For all that Noir wasn't one of those Absolute Justice fanatics, she was devoted to her duty as a Marine. And Luffy wouldn't make it to Pirate King without attracting a hell of a lot of Marine attention. Shanks could at least keep Noir's attention off Anchor for a while longer.

But still not the reason he'd tracked Noir down. "Ace had one of your cards."

Ace had been playing with it, an ace of spades (and if that wasn't a reference to his crew then Shanks would give up alcohol for a year). Shanks recognized the distinctive playing cards. Not hard, given Noir had thrown more than a few of those cards at his head. But seeing Ace with one of Noir's cards? Shanks had almost choked on his sake.

Noir raised a brow. She took another mouthful of vodka, pointedly not saying anything.

"Ace didn't know you're his aunt." Shanks pressed, because something strange was going on. Ace hadn't known _anything_ about Noir besides her nickname among the underworld, had even sprayed his drink everywhere when Shanks mentioned 'Card Shark' Noir's day job. 'Course, the brat hadn't been happy to hear that Noir was his aunt - while wearing the same scowl Noir did whenever the older Portgas found a puzzle she didn't like - and wondered aloud why Noir hadn't mentioned it.

Frankly, Shanks wondered the same thing. Noir and Rouge had been as close as sisters could be. With how Noir valued family - and boy did Noir still hold a grudge for Roger's part in Rouge's death - Shanks would have thought Noir would have raised Ace herself.

Noir took another swig of her drink. The good mood from earlier was completely gone, left with a tense silence so thick Shanks could probably cut it with a spoon.

"Noir." Shanks said. He'd never seen her like this, never seen her staring at her bottle of barely drinkable paint thinner like she wished there was more alcohol in it. Not even after Rouge died. "What's going on?"

Finally, Noir sighed and drained the last of her bottle. Standing - and apparently Noir still had a cast iron liver because she didn't so much as sway - Noir met Shanks' concerned gaze. There was an emotion there that Shanks couldn't read, and a bitter smile on her lips. "I met Ace when I gave him that card, Shanks."

She left, stalking out the front door and Shanks leant back in his seat. So Noir didn't raise her nephew. Why not? From the twitch in her Haki, that clearly hadn't been a voluntary decision on her part. She hadn't even known about Ace, from the look of it.

Who the hell was dumb enough to keep that a secret from her?

* * *

 **Please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Shoutout to MomoTheDreamer and TrickyDickey for their reviews! And thanks to my amazing beta, ghostperson!**

* * *

 _The Chariot, reversed - Lack of control, lack of direction, aggression..._

* * *

 _Late 1519 - East Blue_

Noir could come to like Fuusha village.

It was quiet and peaceful. A place untouched by the insanity of the Grand Line, a place Noir could actually relax and not worry about getting her head chopped off by a pirate nor be bothered by the other Marines.

As much as she believed in justice, in protecting those who could not protect themselves and hunting the scum who preyed on the defenseless, Noir could not forget the farce that was Absolute Justice. The world was not so clean cut as black and white, evil and good, pirate and Marine. It was a plethora of shades and colors. There were Marines that, were it not for their position, would be as reviled as Shiki and Gol D. Roger. In Noir's opinion, Akainu would beat out Gol D. Roger for the position in a heartbeat. And there were pirates, for all their crimes, who were truly good people.

Shanks was one of those pirates. Not that it would stop Noir from hunting him down and dragging him to Impel Down. She had a duty as a Marine, and Shanks had committed more than his fair share of crimes. He would face justice for them. Noir only wished she could throw a few of her colleagues in prison with him.

The first place Noir went to was the bar. As a teenager, Noir had discovered how much information could be found casually eavesdropping on the patrons. She'd kept the habit after enlisting in the Marines, and it had made her a valuable recruit. People might not talk to a Marine, but they'd usually talk to another patron.

The last thing Noir had wanted was to seem like a moping drunk, nor encourage other patrons to flirt with her. Noir could have taken a colleague with her - in fact, Garp would have preferred that - but none of her colleagues would recognize subtlety if it danced in front of their noses wearing a jolly roger.

Cards though, cards were an excellent way to blend in without having to put up with incessant morons trying to get into her pants. Gamblers didn't like it when people bothered their gambling partners. Especially since, at first, Noir shelled out a good chunk of her paycheck learning to play. Enough money that she learned to drink cheap, shitty alcohol that Roger would have _cringed_ to see Noir drinking.

It took awhile, but Noir stopped losing money, and started winning instead. Five years into her career as a Marine, she'd become so skilled at cards that her opponents _\- victims_ \- often accused her of cheating, leading to no shortage of bar fights.

Annoying as hell, but Noir had been trained by the _Pirate King_. She'd been able to handle a bar fight since she was thirteen, and had quite a bit of experience backing up Shanks in said fights when the red head pissed off the wrong patron. Close quarter combat was not the place for a sword. The then cabin boy had learned the value of ducking real quick.

By the time Noir turned twenty-three the bar fights had almost stopped occurring - there would _always_ be at least one hot-headed idiot a year - and people had stopped looking over Noir's shoulder in hopes of catching her cheat.

Which offended her, quite frankly. Noir didn't cheat unless someone else started cheating first. Turnabout was fair play and all that.

Nonetheless, Card Shark Noir became well-known throughout the Grand Line underworld. Not for any actual crimes - Garp would've had her hide for that - but rather for bleeding everyone at the table dry of their beris.

Garp greatly appreciated the occasional gift of expensive booze.

Partys Bar was a nice establishment for a village as small as Fuusha. Solid round tables, sturdy wooden chairs, and clean and organized. A number of patrons were already present and drinking despite the early hour, though from the way some of them looked at the bartender, they were here less for the food and more for the green haired woman behind the bar.

Noir took a seat at the bar, ignoring the embellished seat next to her. That seat clearly belonged to someone already, and Noir wasn't so rude as to usurp that claim.

Ordering a late lunch, Noir pulled out two decks of cards and set up a game of Rouge et Noir. Slowly, conversations continued as the local patrons lost interest in her, and Noir eavesdropped on the local gossip.

It hadn't been difficult to track down where Garp vacationed. Dawn Island, of Goa Kingdom in East Blue. It was a long shot, but Noir had no other leads to follow in searching for Ace's childhood home. And Noir wasn't going to ask Garp. If he'd lied to her about Ace surviving Baterilla, she didn't doubt he'd lie about where Ace grew up.

Noir had taken care to cover her own tracks. Garp had made use of Marine transports to East Blue, leaving behind easily accessible records. Noir instead took a series of civilian vessels. It had taken two months to reach East Blue, and another month to reach Dawn, but no one in the Marines would be able to find out exactly where she'd gone without a hell of a lot of effort involved.

And there would be speculation about her sudden vacation. Noir hadn't taken a single day off in over ten years. 'Workaholic' was not an unusual description for her.

But Ace didn't think he deserved to live. And Noir needed to know who exactly had put that notion in his head.

If this didn't pan out, Noir would have to look into records from South Blue and see if she could recreate Garp's path from the beginning.

Other than the occasional polite chit chat from Makino the bartender, Noir was left alone. It was nice, and Noir felt herself relaxing.

Which was when the pirates walked in.

Noir gave them a quick once over. Years of experience in the New World where anything remotely unusual could indicate a powerful threat gave Noir a sharp eye. But nothing on these pirate stood out. Worn and faded clothing, less than quality equipment, and rather forgettable physical features. Guppies, really, and not even wealthy ones at that. Noir turned back to her cards.

Only for Makino's fixed smile to grab Noir's attention. Something was wrong. Noir stretched out her Observation Haki. The pirates' auras were… well, they didn't come close to those on the Grand Line. But Makino's aura was flickering with anxiety.

The pirate crew wasn't the rowdiest Noir had ever seen. In fact, they were downright polite compared to some. Their captain - a touch of arrogance, a coat of finer make than the others, and the rest of the crew looked to him - was rather plain. He had dark hair and eyes and a weather beaten face. He wasn't very tall for a man, nor did he have much of a physical presence. Curious. How did he command the loyalty of his crew then?

"A round for the crew, my dear Makino!" The captain called. His crew roared with approval.

"I'm not your dear anything!" Makino called back, already setting out trays of glasses.

"Stubborn as always!" The captain laughed. "But I know you'll come around eventually!"

Oh wow, Noir did not like him.

There was a particularly flinty look Makino's eye. Noir knew that look. The look of a woman who had an unwanted but persistent suitor.

Makino was a professional though, and Noir was impressed. Noir would have thrown out the idiot captain in minutes, but Makino went about delivering drinking, dodging hands and ignoring wandering eyes. Likewise, flirtations were either ignored or politely shut down.

Noir watched with growing annoyance, because _damn_ this man was determined. Or perhaps he couldn't stand to be refused.

Under the raucous cheers of yet another toast to Makino's beauty, Noir leaned towards the bartender in question. "How often do you deal with this?" Noir asked. Makino's pleasant mask slipped, her face pinching in displeasure. But the cheers and catcalls died down again, and Makino's mask is firmly in place by the time the captain turned his attention back to her.

But that was all Noir needed to answer her question. Far too often.

Said annoyance was rapidly losing patience with Makino's stonewalling. As Makino passed him, the captain managed to snag her wrist, and the bar went dead silent.

Glass shattered.

Everyone turned to look at her. Noir blinked down at the broken glass, affecting a chagrined expression. "Sorry, Makino-san. I think I've had a bit too much to drink."

Which was utter bullshit, and both women knew it. Noir could hold her own with Shanks, and Makino knew a drunk patron when she saw them. The measly amount she'd had wouldn't even leave her buzzed.

Makino seized the offered escape. "It's alright, Noir-san. I'll get you some water and clean that up."

Flirting with the bartender was one thing. Actively impeding her from her job was another, and the captain knew it. Noir could see his reluctance as he released Makino's wrist.

Noir had to praise Makino's composure. The woman's professional mask was flawless and her hands steady as she poured Noir a glass of water before disappearing into the back room. If Noir hadn't felt Makino's Haki roiling in distress, the Marine never would have thought the bartender was fleeing.

Noir turned her attention to the sulking pirate captain. "It's rude to harass the person who serves your drinks."

The man scowled at her. "What's it to you?"

Other than not being a shitty excuse of a person? Noir could see and feel the immense displeasure emanating from the local patrons at the captain's manhandling of Makino. The only reason they hadn't interceded yet was because none of them were a match for one pirate, much less a crew of them. Not that such a disadvantage would stop them much longer, Makino's admirers especially. Noir had no desire to see the massacre that fight would turn into.

Noir liked Makino. The woman shouldn't have to put up with arrogant pirates that didn't understand when someone wasn't interested. "I hate it when thugs interrupt my drinking." Noir said.

Oh, and didn't that send them off the deep end. The crew drew together, bristling at the insult to them and their captain. It was almost cute.

The man next to the captain snapped at her. "You're talking to the infamous Captain Ward Samuel of the Sea Dog pirates, bitch!"

Was that supposed to impress her? No, judging by the man's face - the first mate, maybe? Noir didn't care enough to guess - that particular fact was supposed to be intimidating. Except, well, it's _East Blue_. The least threatening place on the whole planet.

"Never heard of you." Noir told them, sipping at her water. "Not that I pay attention to guppies." She had bigger fish to fry. Like Shanks. And wouldn't the Yonko laugh himself sick when Noir told him about this particular idiot.

"I've got a 10 million beri bounty!" The captain whatever-the-hell-his-name-was snarled.

Noir threw her head back and _laughed_.

This was sheer gold. "Poor puppy," Noir mocked, trying to reign in her giggles, "did you think that was impressive?" This guy wouldn't even be a _footnote_ on the Grand Line.

Oh dear, it seemed Noir had offended the man. The captain brandished a katana in Noir's direction. Noir's amusement faded immediately. Things were escalating, and if she wasn't careful there would be casualties.

"I don't know who you think you are," the captain growled, "but you will not talk to me that way."

The _or else_ was fairly explicit. Noir narrowed her eyes at the man. By the Sea, she _loathed_ it when people tried to threaten her. She flicked a card in his direction. "If you're going to threaten me, don't do it with such a shoddy weapon."

The pirate blinked at her, before his blade fell to the floor with a clang, cut clean away from the hilt. Noir stood, towering over the man as she glared. "As for who I am," she said, "Portgas D. Noir, Rear Admiral of the Marines."

The way pirates blanched at her rank was vindictively gratifying.

"You are currently souring my vacation." Noir informed them pointedly. She wasn't one for boasting, but dammit she really didn't want to deal with these idiots right now. "Unless you'd like me to take a break from hunting the Yonko Red Hair Shanks and turn you all in for drinking money, you should leave. _Now_."

The pirates couldn't leave fast enough. Noir sighed and made a mental note to cover their bill. Just because they were assholes didn't mean Makino deserved to be gypped.

She would make certain to set the local Marines on them in revenge.

* * *

 **As always, please review! Like seriously guys, reviews are a huge inspiration and motivation for me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Shoutout to MomoTheDreamer, Rizuki Dhan, and ghostperson!**

* * *

 _Temperance, upright - Middle path, patience, finding meaning..._

* * *

Well, this was not what Makino had anticipated when she woke up this morning.

She clutched the broom handle, trying to calm her racing heart. The 'door' to the back room was cloth for a reason - Makino could hear everything that happened in her bar. So she'd easily heard the argument between Noir and Ward, and Noir's explicit threat.

Makino had not expected a _Rear Admiral_ to walk into her bar today.

Neither had the Sea Dog Pirates, and the rush of footsteps and subsequent cheering from her customers told Makino that the pirates were not prepared to deal with the Marine.

"You can come out, Makino-san." Noir's voice cut through the din of revelry. Makino pushed aside the cloth. Not a single Sea Dog in sight, thank the Sea. Noir had already pulled out the barstools around the broken glass - which was irksome but Makino would take a broken glass over dealing with Ward - allowing Makino to sweep up the shards unimpeded.

"Thank you, Noir-san." Makino said. For both the assistance cleaning and for scaring off the pirates. Not that the pirates would be gone forever. Makino had not missed the fact that Noir was on vacation. Once the pirates calmed down, they would remember that as well and come back once they were certain of Noir's absence. And then they would likely take out their frustrations on Makino and her customers.

Noir was writing something on one of her playing cards. After a moment, she handed it to Makino, who looked at the ace of hearts to see a series of numbers scrawled in neat, cramped handwriting.

"Do you have access to a Den Den?" Noir asked. Makino nodded her head. She didn't, but Mayor Woop Slap had one she'd be able to use if necessary. "Right, if those pirates bother you again, call that number. I'll see to it myself."

Makino tucked the card in her pocket, feeling a weight disappear from her shoulders. There wasn't anything as reassuring as the guarantee of overkill. Normally, Makino would tell Shanks about the unwanted attention, trusting her friend would take care of it, but Shanks hadn't been able to visit Fuusha village in years and hadn't mentioned if he would be able to in the near future.

At the thought of the pirate, Makino eyed the blonde Marine. "Are you really hunting Shanks?" Makino's gut clenched. Was Shanks alright? He was a Yonko - he had to be. Noir was only a Rear Admiral after all, not a Vice Admiral like Garp or a full Admiral.

Noir huffed. "I've been hunting Shanks for years now." She said, and Makino blinked at the annoyance in her tone. "Our rivalry is a bit of a legend among the new recruits, almost as legendary as Pirate King Gol D. Roger and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp."

Makino had stopped paying attention at Noir's confirmation. Her heart pounded in her ears. "You're trying to kill Shanks." She said numbly.

Noir curled her lip, as though she found such a notion personally offensive. "My goal is to _arrest_ Shanks."

She glared at the blonde. Makino wasn't stupid. Even out in East Blue, Impel Down's reputation was well known. As was the reputation of the World Government. Shanks would be executed, _publicly_ , to make a statement. Just like the Pirate King.

"You're going to _kill_ Shanks." Makino repeated, gripping the handle of her broom tightly.

The reality of Shanks' chosen lifestyle had never really occurred to Makino before now. The fact that while Shanks was one of the most powerful pirates on the seas, he was also one of the most wanted men on the seas. How many Marines did he have hunting for his head?

Noir's shoulders slumped. "Yeah," Noir sighed, "I suppose I will."

"But he's a good man - " And what was Makino thinking, defending a pirate to a _Marine_?

Makino's wary expression drew a knowing smirk from Noir. "I'm not like my fanatic colleagues. If I arrested everyone who knew a pirate, I wouldn't have time to sleep." A pause. "Can Impel Down even hold that many people?"

Unbidden, a mental image of a prison exploding outwards with prisoners came to Makino's mind, and she couldn't help but crack a grin.

Noir grinned at her before sobering. "People forget; justice isn't kind. Absolute Justice less so. Justice doesn't _care_ that Shanks is a good man. Justice only cares for the crimes Shanks has committed."

"But that's not fair." Makino whispered. Shanks wasn't cruel like other pirates. He'd saved Luffy from Higuma, sacrificed an arm to the Lord of the Coast! All for a kid he hadn't known very long.

"I agree." Startled, Makino whipped her head up. There was a small, deprecating smile on Noir's face. Makino recognized that smile. She'd seen it a thousand times on her customers. That was the smile of a painful story. "Fair would be the laws applying to _everyone_. Equally."

Well, that was grand in theory. "Do you include yourself in that?" Makino asked, meeting Noir's gaze in a challenging stare.

Noir smirked, but Makino thought the expression looked tired. "I'm not a good person, Makino-san. I'm selfish, not particularly merciful or forgiving, and I've got an _awful_ temper. I've done things I'm not proud of, but I'd do some of them again if I had to." The Marine shrugged. "I'll face my judgment in time."

With that, Noir went back to her cards, ending the conversation.

As Makino finished cleaning up, she considered the older woman. Noir was… _strange_ for a Marine. Surprisingly humble - Makino didn't know of any Marines who would admit having done anything warranting justice for - and lenient. The bartender couldn't say if Noir was selfish or forgiving, but Noir's treatment of the Sea Dog pirates didn't strike Makino as merciless.

And her name. _Portgas D. Noir_.

Was she related to Ace? The boy hadn't ever mentioned a relative, but if Noir's temper was anything like Ace's Makino could see how one might describe it as awful. But if they were related, why hadn't Noir raised him? Or even visited, like Garp had?

Either way, Makino decided, she'd withhold judgment for now. She set a bottle of Shanks' favored sake by the woman and left her to her cards.

* * *

Noir had felt the jolt of recognition in Makino's Haki during Noir's introduction. Whether that was recognition of Noir herself or Noir's surname wasn't clear - Garp was known for telling stories and Noir wouldn't be surprised if he'd told a few about her - but Noir figured the best way to find out was by straight out asking.

The plan was to ask Makino when the woman passed by Noir's end of the bar, but an aura rapidly approaching the bar snagged Noir's attention. Because that was a much stronger aura than Noir was expecting to find in an East Blue civilian, and was that _a Devil Fruit user_? How the hell did a Devil Fruit wind up all the way out here?

The door was kicked open with a bang. Well, that explained the hole in the wall. From Makino's non-reaction that was a common occurrence. The kid standing in the doorway was the spitting image of Garp, and Noir should probably be thankful that Garp's grandson was only putting holes in walls instead of going _through_ walls.

"I brought a boar, Makino!" the kid - Luffy, if Noir remembered correctly - shouted, one hand securing a straw hat on his head.

Noir absently registered Makino's response, because she _recognized_ that hat. That was _Roger's_ hat. Well, it had been Shanks' hat for the past twenty-three years. Noir thought Shanks had hung it up somewhere for safe keeping! What had possessed Shanks to part with it?

Now that she thought about it, Shanks had lost his arm right around the time he stopped wearing Roger's hat.

Did it have to do with Luffy?

How Luffy managed to drag the giant boar through Makino's doorway, Noir wasn't sure, but Luffy easily dragged the animal to Makino's kitchen. He then took the embellished seat next to her. So _that's_ who it was for.

Noir took a moment to scrutinize Garp's grandson. Poor kid, he really did look like his grandfather. They even had similar scars, though how Luffy got his Noir was not certain she wanted to know. But where Garp had always been a muscular man according to stories from Garp's colleagues, Luffy was almost the opposite, with a lean and lanky build.

Then Makino started bringing out food and Noir abruptly felt like she was a Ensign under Garp's command again.

What was it about male Children of D that they could eat so much food? Noir and Rouge had large appetites, but nothing like that! At this rate, Luffy would finish the boar by himself and still have room for more.

"More, Makino!"

Now that was rude. Adding a touch of Haki to her finger, Noir reached over and flicked Luffy on the ear. Luffy yelped and whirled to stare at Noir, aura pinging in shock. So a logia or paramecia fruit, if pain surprised him. Noir gave Luffy a stern look. "Be more polite to Makino-san." Luffy blinked in confusion, and Noir resisted the urge to cover her face in her hands. "Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?" She asked. From the kitchen, Makino's aura twisted in amusement.

Luffy scrunched his nose. "I'm going to be a pirate!" He exclaimed, and Noir very pointedly ingored the fact that Luffy still had food in his mouth. "Pirates don't need manners!"

Noir raised an imperious brow. Oh they didn't, did they? "Shanks has manners." She told him. Shanks didn't always _use_ them, but he had them.

Luffy scowled. Noir decided it was adorable. "Well I'm going to be the Pirate King!" He declared. "So I won't need them!"

Makino arrived with another series of plates, and Luffy returned to gorging himself on the boar meat. Noir gave in and buried her face in her hands. The conviction in Luffy's eyes was the same conviction she'd once seen from Roger, and dammit Luffy was going to get himself into just as much trouble, wasn't he?

Poor Garp. It was a good thing his hair was already grey.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Shoutout to MomoTheDreamer for her continually amazing reviews! Seriously amicus, your reviews are the highlight of my day. Beta'd by the awesome ghostperson.**

* * *

 _Strength, upright - Inner strength, bravery, compassion, focus..._

* * *

When Luffy dragged an unknown woman to the hideout, Dadan was at the door, axe in hand and ready to chop the woman's head off. And then she was going to teach the brat a lesson about trusting strangers with their location.

Of course, everything went pear shaped as soon as the brat opened his mouth.

"This is Auntie Nola!" Luffy shouted. "She's going to train me!"

Dadan froze, eyes bugging out. When the hell did Garp have another kid? And by the Sea, Dadan felt like she was going to have a heart attack. Two Monkeys were bad enough, she did _not_ want a third one in her life!

And wait - why the hell did Garp drop his shitty brat on her instead of Nola?!

The blonde whacked Luffy upside the head. "It's _Noir_. Not Nola." Dadan snorted. There was no way the brat was going to remember that. Noir was going to be 'Auntie Nola' for the rest of the brat's life. "And I'm not your aunt and I never said anything about training you!"

Dadan's suspicion came back full force. The brat could get some strange ideas into his head, so his particular brand of stubborn stupidity - while _annoying_ \- could be dealt with. But if the woman wasn't a relative or sent by Garp to train the brat… "Who the hell are you then?"

"Portgas D. Noir." Correction, _this_ was what a heart attack felt like.

Luffy's added, "She's Ace's aunt!" was completely _unnecessary_ and his insistent, "Which makes her my aunt because Ace and I are brothers!" was _not helpful_.

Under normal circumstances, Dadan would wholeheartedly relate to Noir's exasperated groan. The brat's logic was completely skewed and nothing anyone said could change it. But Dadan's shock and fear - holy _shit_ was this woman somehow related to the _Pirate King_?! - were quickly turning to anger. Because Noir was telling the truth. Dadan could see the subtle features Ace shared with her, in the shape of her eyes, the freckles, and the way their ears slanted just so. So where the fuck had Noir been these last eighteen years?

The mountain bandit crossed her arms. "Garp never mentioned you." She accused.

Noir's jaw tightened. "That's funny." She replied, voice light despite the anger sparking in her eyes. "Because Garp never mentioned you. Of course, he didn't mention Ace either. I had no idea my nephew survived Baterilla until I ran into him on the Grand Line five months ago."

The was old grief in Noir's eyes, hidden underneath the anger. Dadan could read between the lines to what she wasn't saying in front of the brat. Garp had lied to Noir. The million-beri question was: why?

"You saw Ace?" Luffy asked eagerly. "How is he? Is he strong? What's his bounty?"

"Yes. Good. I assume so. 50 million." Noir replied. "Last I checked anyway. Could be higher now."

Dadan lowered her axe. "You might as well come in." She grumped. At least she could send Luffy out for dinner. They didn't have anywhere near enough food to feed his bottomless stomach. "The brat won't let you leave until you answer all his questions about Ace."

And no, she wasn't eager to hear about Ace. Nor was Dadan itching to dig out the scrapbooks.

Unfortunately, Noir wasn't able to tell them much more. Ace had only been on the Grand Line a short while before Noir met him. But he was a captain of his own crew - the Spade pirates, and wasn't that ironic? - his appetite was as large as ever, and he ate a Devil Fruit of his own and was now a Logia.

Which prompted a short lecture about the different classes of Devil Fruits and their strengths and weaknesses. The brat zoned out halfway through, but Dadan paid attention, if only out of curiosity of Ace's new abilities. Which were strange. If she hadn't raised Luffy with all his rubbery stretchiness, then Dadan would have called it impossible to be made out of fire.

This was why Dadan wasn't a pirate. She didn't have to deal with all that crazy.

"Luffy, do you mind getting some meat for dinner-" Noir blinked at the chair that hadn't been empty half a second before.

Dadan snorted. Damn that brat was so easy to manipulate. Mention meat of any kind and he'd agree before you got half your request out. The conflicted expression that flickered over Noir's face though… "What don't you want Luffy to hear?"

Noir stared at Dadan, gaze piercing and Dadan felt a chill run down her spine. For a moment, it seemed as though Noir was peering into Dadan's very soul, laying bare everything thought and memory. She wondered if Noir had a Devil Fruit of her own. "What was Ace's childhood like?" Noir asked.

Dadan frowned. "Why?"

"When I met Ace," Noir said, each word pronounced with precision and care, "he asked me if he deserved to have been born." Noir's nostrils flared, and Dadan froze. "He asked if he should die like his father."

Dadan was going to hit the damn villagers next time she saw them. No, Ace hadn't been a happy kid before Luffy arrived, but Dadan hadn't known Ace carried such doubts.

Dadan very carefully did not fidget. She was tempted to brush off the question. She never wanted to care for the brats, was never given a choice in the matter. However there was a dangerous glint in Noir's brown eyes, a deep seated anger and Dadan remembered that she knew nothing about this woman. Nothing beyond that Noir was confident enough to walking into a mountain bandit hideout with only a dagger strapped to her waist.

And well, if Noir was going to be angry, Dadan sure as hell didn't want Noir angry with her. If there was one thing Dadan had learned in her career as a mountain bandit, it was when to throw someone else under the bus.

* * *

Noir was going to _kill_ Garp. Slowly. With a fucking _spoon_.

She stormed out of Dadan's house and into the forest, fury burning through her veins. Noir knew Ace's childhood wasn't the _best_ , not when Garp had left him with _mountain bandits_ , but she'd hoped that was the worst of it. Oh no. Not even fucking close.

Sporadic visits that consisted of Garp chasing Ace, Luffy, and Sabo - a noble child that rejected his status, would wonders never cease - around the forest and beating the shit out of them. No wonder Luffy was terrified of his grandfather! And allowing them, hell _encouraging_ them, to fight the local wildlife, wildlife that was so far out of their league it wasn't even funny, with naught but _pipes_. Barely any physical training, _no_ Haki training, and _no_ Marine or weapons training. Noir was amazed they were able to use the pipes as effectively as they did!

Despite Dadan's worry, Noir did not hold a grudge against the mountain bandits. Garp had blackmailed the woman into raising Ace and Luffy, and she'd done a much better job of it than Garp, to say the least. Not that Garp had set the bar very high, but her efforts still needed to be acknowledged, especially since she'd saved Luffy and Ace from actual damned pirates.

Oh yes, Garp. Such a _fantastic_ job of protecting Ace.

Dadan didn't know why Ace didn't think he deserved to live, but the two women could guess. Ace learning of his parentage at a young age, of Roger's reputation created and disseminated by the Marines and World Government, and thinking himself the son of a monster. That did wonders to a child's mental health! On top of that, because it was a child's nature to seek comfort and validation, Ace had asked the citizens of Dawn Island about his father and a 'hypothetical' child of the Pirate King. No wonder Ace thought he didn't deserve to live. It was only what everyone had told him for years!

Yet Garp hadn't told Ace _anything_ about his father. He'd known Roger for the Sea's sake! He'd known Roger wasn't the monster the Marines painted him as!

And Noir was using that to distract herself from her anger and pain because Noir could have told Ace about Roger, about Rouge, and Shanks, and Rayleigh, and the other Roger Pirates, _if only she'd raised him_.

But now - now Noir was torn. Noir was a Marine. Ace was a pirate. By law, Ace and Noir were enemies. Noir became a Marine to _protect_ her family, to protect _Rouge_ , because Roger wasn't going to be around to do it himself. And Noir was duty-bound to arrest Rouge's son, which would kill him.

Howling her grief and rage to the sky, Noir slammed a Haki-coated fist into the nearest tree. And Noir allowed herself to sink into the haze of her emotions and simply _be_.

"Wow!" Noir looked up. Luffy stared down at her from a tree branch. "That's so cool!"

Cool? Noir glanced around. She was surrounded by felled trees, thick trunks shattered near the base with a single blow. Damn, she'd caused more destruction than she thought. There would be a large new clearing here after Noir cleared away all the trees. Did Dadan need any firewood?

"How did you do that?" Luffy demanded eagerly. "I'm strong, but I can't do that!"

Noir looked down at her hands, still blackened with Haki. Dammit, Garp. Hadn't he even _mentioned_ Haki to his grandsons? Of course not. Garp wanted them to become Marines, but Luffy and Ace were dead set _against_ that. Quite sensible on Ace's part. Noir highly doubted that being a Marine would save Ace from execution if the truth of his heritage ever reached the wrong ears.

To hell with that, Noir decided. If Luffy wanted to learn Haki, Noir would train him, because payback is a _bitch_ , Garp.

Noir hoped Luffy drove him _up the fucking wall_.

* * *

 **Please review! Please people, I'm not looking for an essay, I just want to know if you liked the chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Shoutout to MomoTheDreamer again. Beta'd by ghostperson.**

 **Quick note: I've got family obligations the next few days and will have limited time to write. As such, the original plan to finish and post chapter 8 by Monday will not be happening. I hope to have it out by Tuesday, but it might be as late as Friday depending on my work schedule. Sorry about that, amici.**

* * *

 _Ace of Cups, reversed - Emotional loss, blocked creativity, emptiness..._

* * *

 _September 1520_

Loguetown was very busy, Noir noted. Merchant vessels of varying sizes and capacities, and a host of Marine ships. Good, she had options then. The merchant she'd hitched a ride with had been more than grateful for a Marine presence, but he unfortunately did not travel into the Grand Line, so Noir would have to disembark.

The Marine base would be her first port of call. If she was fortunate, there would be a vessel returning to the Grand Line in the next few days. If not, well, she could easily obtain the beris necessary to pay for transport with another merchant. Even if they were as greedy as the last one.

At the fork leading to the Marine base, Noir paused. She'd never seen it, and it _was_ the anniversary… She might not get another chance.

Instead of going right, Noir took the left street, ambling along until she came to a large square. Tourists milled around. Noir tuned out the chattering adults and squealing children, gazing at the blatant addition to the town center. A tall platform, steel supports and a wooden floor, large enough to hold three people. It was weathered with age and exposure to the elements, but careful maintenance showed in the cleanliness and lack of rust.

It was strange. Noir remembered watching the broadcast from a Marine base in West Blue. She remembered desperately wishing to be somewhere else, _anywhere_ else, but that room of cheering Marines. A futile wish. She'd been a Warrant Officer. Her absence would have been noticed, and questions would have been asked.

Noir's nails dug into her palms as her hands curled into fists. _You promised_ , she snarled to herself, _you promised you'd protect her!_

A difficult promise to fulfill when dead. And Rouge had paid for that with her life.

Snarling at a dead man wouldn't change the past. Noir turned and left.

"Can I help you, Miss…?"

"Rear Admiral Portgas D. Noir."

The Chief Petty Officer - a pretty little thing, violet hair, silver eyes - didn't blink. "What can I do for you, sir?" Noir felt an approving smile curve over her face. This one had _spine_. Good.

"I'd like to speak with the base commander, please." And by the deep blue sea, let it _not_ be Captain Masser. She did not have the patience to put up with his bullshit. Cost be damned, Noir would find a civilian ship to take her to the Grand Line.

The young woman rifled through a neat stack of papers, finally plucking one free and scanning it. "Captain Smoker is currently free, sir. Would you like an escort?" She asked, already scribbling information down on a small slip Noir recognized as a visitor's pass. Understandable. Noir was still on vacation.

Noir's brows rose sharply. Smoker was the base commander? Well, that was new. Last they spoke, Smoker had still been a Commander stationed in South Blue. They had some catching up to do.

"That won't be necessary." Now that she was paying attention, Noir could feel her former subordinate's Haki. The aura curled around itself lazily, that same hazy sense that somehow felt like smoke despite the intangible nature of aura. In fact, Noir was well acquainted with that serene quality to Smoker's aura. "Does Captain Smoker still rock balance?"

"Yes, sir." The Chief Petty Officer replied. Her expression gave nothing away, but her aura shifted in confusion.

Noir nodded to the woman and strode off down one of the halls. Most Marine bases were built in a standard layout, so Noir had no difficulty finding the office designated for the base commander's use. It was a delicate balance, opening the door softly enough that she didn't disrupt Smoker's attention, but not so soft that she startled him when he finally did take note of her presence.

Sure enough, Smoker was at his desk, two cigars clenched between his teeth and gaze narrowed as he carefully placed irregularly shaped stones on top of each other in ways that should _not_ have stayed up. It appeared today was for delicate work. Noir had seen Smoker work with rocks her size before, building monoliths that seemed to defy the laws of physics at first glance.

Once Smoker had finished the last piece in front of him, Noir spoke up from her spot against the door frame. "That still makes my brain hurt." Looking at the sculptures, they did not look like they could stand without adhesive or wire keeping everything together. Trying to wrap her head around _how_ they remained upright always gave her a headache.

"It's a hobby for the intellectual." Smoker replied.

She pulled a face. "You are so cruel to your poor old captain."

Smoker deadpanned at her. "I'm certain you'll survive."

Noir pushed away from the doorway and gave her subordinate a firm hug. "Congrats on your promotion. How long?"

"Two months." Smoker set a kettle of water on the small hot plate in the corner of one bookshelf, and dug out a bag of tea leaves. "Former Captain Masser was found to be taking bribes from pirates in exchange for entry into the Grand Line." Noir scowled. That rat bastard.

A comfortable silence fell. Noir watched Smoker bustle around his office, setting out tea cups and steeping the tea leaves after the water boiled.

"So what brings you to Loguetown?" Smoker finally asked, pouring them both a cup of tea and setting the pot between them. Noir took a deep breath of the steam rising from her cup. Silver needle tea. Smoker really did have excellent taste.

"Do you have any transports returning to the Grand Line?"

Smoker grunted and opened a drawer. Rifling through it, he withdrew a thick file. "Two days." He told her. "They're taking reports from East Blue directly to Headquarters. I'll arrange for you to escort them."

She nodded. "Thank you."

The file disappeared into a drawer. "Rumor has it you were pregnant." Smoker said.

Noir choked on her tea. "What?!"

The white-haired captain gave her a dry expression, even as he handed her a napkin to mop herself up. "You took a year long vacation when you hadn't taken a single day in over a decade."

Well, he wasn't _wrong_. "I was _not_ pregnant." Noir growled. She wasn't even currently in a relationship! And while she had no issues with one-night stands in general, Noir would never engage in one herself. If this was Garp's idea of a joke Noir was going to incinerate his rice crackers and sake.

"So what brought the Queen of Cards to East Blue then?" Smoker asked.

Noir glared at the use of her epithet among the Marines. "I needed to get away from idiot colleagues." She said. Preferably before she lost her temper and resorted to bashing skulls against the rails. Her poor ship didn't deserve the abuse.

Unfortunately, Smoker was long immune to Noir's glare. "And you needed a year for that?" Skepticism dripped from every word.

"I no longer have the urge to make myself a monkey-skin coat." She grumbled into her teacup. Well, mostly. She might still shave Garp's beard. "So _yes_."

Smoker conceded to her point with a nod. Noir had always loved that about her former subordinate. Both of them highly valued privacy. So long as it did not break the law nor endangered his subordinates, Smoker was content to let things lie. He knew Noir, knew there was more to coming to East Blue than simply escaping while she cooled her temper. But Noir made it clear that she did not want to talk about it, so Smoker dropped the subject.

"Your nephew joined up with Whitebeard." And sometimes, Smoker was too sharp for her peace of mind. Putting together Ace's arrival on the Grand Line with Noir's abrupt vacation was well within his mental capabilities. "He refused to join the Shichibukai and joined the Yonko a few weeks later with his whole crew." Noir put one hand over her face and sighed. Of course he did. That would be Roger's blood - all or nothing, never in between.

"What's his bounty now?" Joining a Yonko's crew would've automatically increased it, because Yonkos didn't accept any two-bit pirate on the Grand Line.

He handed her Ace's bounty poster. "Oh for fuck's sake." She swore. A quarter _billion_ beris?

"What will you do?" Smoker asked. Noir sighed again. She'd been wrestling with that question for the past twelve months.

Noir had to choose: family or duty. As much as Noir wished, she couldn't be a Marine and protect Ace at the same time. On one hand, Ace was family. He was Rouge and Roger's son. Her nephew!

…Her nephew that hardly had any Will to live. Noir had already mourned Ace once, over twenty years when all she had was her duty to the Marines to keep her going. Noir didn't think she would bear to mourn Ace a second time. And with Ace's reckless disregard of his own life, it was really only a matter of time.

It was selfish, but Noir couldn't attach herself to a dead man walking.

 _I'm sorry Rouge, Roger. But I_ can't _. Not again._

"I've been a Marine for twenty-one years." She told Smoker. "I won't turn my back on that now."

* * *

Smoker was not worried about his old captain. At all.

Even though her blonde hair was now streaked with silver, new wrinkles lined her forehead and mouth, and exhaustion lingered in the line of her shoulders… Nope.

He was… _concerned._ Just a bit.

Of course, Smoker knew to keep his concerns to himself. Noir did _not_ appreciate being mothered, even when it was done with the best of intentions.

But in Smoker's opinion, Noir should retire. Twenty years of service was more than respectable, and if she was still this tired after a year of vacation she clearly needed to take more time off. But it was Noir's choice to make. It was one of the first things Noir taught him - that personal choice was important. You didn't take it away from someone, even if they ended up making bad choices.

Noir was currently giving his men a lecture on Haki. The three different types, how to recognize them, and how to counter them in combat. Most Marines didn't learn about Haki until they reached an officer rank, but Smoker would rather have his men prepared and never need it, than encounter it and not know what they were facing. And if anyone could be called an expert on Haki, it would be Noir.

This was the third lecture today, and she was scheduled to give another two that afternoon before the transport left at dawn the next morning. Or rather, she had been scheduled to do so, until one of Smoker's men came running up to him with a report of a pirate ship bound for port.

"Retrieve Rear Admiral Noir." Smoker ordered. Venting on pirates usually improved Noir's mood. It was a form of stress and anger management she'd passed onto him.

Making his way outside to the balcony overlooking the bay, Smoker accepted a spyglass from the Marine on duty. He looked through it, and easily spotted the jolly roger, still flying high. Pirates - too proud to think that lowering their jolly roger might allow them to easier escape Marine scrutiny. No skin off his nose. Made it far simpler to catch these bastards.

He didn't recognize the flag, not off the top of his head. Then again, Smoker hadn't yet been in East Blue long enough to memorize all the pirate crews that might attempt to enter the Grand Line.

Sharp thuds announced Noir's presence via those ridiculous boots she insisted on wearing. Smoker didn't care what Noir said; wearing heels of any height into combat was dumb and he would have no sympathy when she eventually rolled an ankle. Throwing a scowl at the boots in question, Smoker handed the spyglass off to his former captain. Noir looked through it and promptly scowled. "Why the hell are those idiots still sailing?" She demanded.

His interest peaked. Noir knew them? "Who are they?"

"The Sea Dog pirates." Noir grumbled. "Captained by some arrogant asshole I didn't bother to remember the name of."

Smoker grunted. Now that _was_ a familiar name. The captain, Ward Samuel, had a decent bounty for East Blue at 12 million beris. And perhaps Noir would be interested in an old challenge. "Whoever has the least amount of pirates captured buys the drinks."

"The captain is mine." Noir stated, collapsing the spyglass and setting it aside. Her fingers grazed over her dagger and cards, loosening them in their sheaths.

"No Haki."

Noir scoffed. "Not on your life, _Captain Logia._ " She took off, coat flapping behind her.

"Ensure civilian safety." Smoker barked at a nearby Marine. He took off after Noir, because dammit, that woman drank _a lot_ of alcohol.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Many thanks to the people who reviewed chapter 7! You all were fantastic and gave me the motivation to slog through the rest of this chapter! As always, a thanks to my beta, ghostperson!**

* * *

 _Four of Cups, reversed - Sudden awareness, choosing happiness, acceptance..._

* * *

 _Late 1520_

Oh it was good to be back.

The _Akatokuro_ was about the size of Garp's ship the _Bulldog_. Not quite the size of one of the Marine battleships, but quite a bit larger than the standard. Painted a sleek black instead of the usual green and blue, with a figure head of entwined hibiscuses - one black and one red. Otherwise it matched the standard design, identifying them as Marines to everyone on the seas.

A familiar figure waited for her on deck. "Rear Admiral Noir."

She thought she'd broken him of that. Noir waved off the salute. "Cade, we've know each other for how long?"

"Seventeen years, sir."

"How many more times do I have to ask you to drop the formalities?" Noir asked, craning her neck back to eye her First Mate.

Cade's stoic expression didn't so much as twitch. "At least one more time, Rear Admiral. Shall I debrief you on the events of the past year?"

Noir nodded, listening to Cade's report as she skimmed through the file he'd put together for her. Most of the paperwork was in her Second Mate's flowing script, but while Rafi could speed through paperwork faster than a professional bureaucrat, she didn't have Cade's organizational skills. Rafi actually did most of the paperwork. Cade was the one to look it over and make corrections before filing everything. An arrangement both of them preferred. Rafi - for some strange, unfathomable reason - _loved_ doing paperwork. Cade had a stringent filing system and became a general pain in the ass when someone messed with it. Of course, there was paperwork only Cade could fill out and sometimes Rafi couldn't wait for Cade to file her work, but for the most part their system worked so Noir let them be.

Logistics, ship maintenance, updated personnel roster and significant changes to any personnel files, significant clashes with New World pirates - Cade took her through every part of the crew and ship. He'd done a fine job in her absence. He'd make an excellent ship captain if he ever transferred from Noir's command.

Noir's eye fell on a single sheaf of paper at the back of the file, and she froze before she could crumple the entire file.

Cade didn't need to ask what she was looking at. "Several attempts to transfer Petty Officer Ten Sile were made." Noir's eye twitched. Damn buzzards. "I believe they thought they would succeed in your absence."

"I bet they did." Noir grumbled, scanning the list of names. She scowled. Several attempts her ass. There were two columns of names in Cade's neat but miniscule writing. She recognized the majority. Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals who had attempted to poach Sile from her command before. And - _damn_ _that man_ \- Admiral Akainu.

When Noir first brought Sile into her crew, no one gave a second glance to the eleven-year-old chore boy, other than to wonder why the hell Noir would bring a chore boy along when she clashed so often with a Yonko. It wasn't until someone investigated why Noir's crew never needed new ropes that they realized Sile had a Devil Fruit.

And then everyone wanted the thirteen-year-old. The Nawa Nawa no Mi was a versatile Fruit, and Noir had not allowed Sile to forgo learning to control it. The issue Noir's colleagues and superiors had was that Noir did not have Sile fighting on the frontlines. A waste of a Devil Fruit, according to them.

Noir didn't give a damn. Not three years ago when the poaching attempts began, and sure as hell not now.

"How is he?" Noir asked.

"We won't be running out of rope any time soon." Cade replied. Still shaken then. That wasn't surprising. There had been more transfer attempts during Noir's vacation than the two years before that. Noir was more surprised that Sile was still functioning under all the stress. Sile was notorious among the crew for not handling pressure very well.

Still, Noir had better go reassure him.

Finding her young Petty Officer was a simple matter. Noir simply reached out with her Haki and searched for the aura quivering with anxiety.

 _Oh Sile_. Cade wasn't wrong. There was _a lot_ of rope. Noir could just make out Sile's dreadlocks over the rope coiled by the corner. The transfer attempts must have scared Sile more than Noir thought, if Sile was falling back on old coping mechanisms.

"Sile." Noir said softly. Sile's aura stuttered.

"Rear Admiral?" Sile peeked his head out from behind the large coil of rope. Noir felt like she'd been transported five years into the past, as a child with a too thin face peeked out behind a crate, curiosity and hope warring with wariness.

 _He hasn't been eating_. Sile hadn't been this thin since before he joined the _Akatokuro._

Something to mention to the cook and the doctor. Those two were an unholy terror when they set their minds to it, and no one had managed to slip out of their clutches in the fourteen years Noir had known them.

Noir crouched down so she was eye level with the sitting teen. "I'm back." She said softly. Relief loosened Sile's aura, like a rope going slack.

"You left." Sile said.

"I know." Noir said. Sile wasn't looking for an explanation, so Noir didn't bother with one. "I won't be taking another vacation for at least a couple years. And not for longer than a couple weeks if I do."

Sile fiddled with the rope in his hands. Noir made her way closer, settling down a couple feet away. Sile's shoulders were hunched in on himself, face bowed down out of sight.

"Cade told me about the transfer attempts." Noir prompted. Sile shuddered. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sile twisted his hands around the piece of rope, unraveling it in his distress. "Admiral Akainu showed up with my transfer orders. _In person._ I didn't-" Sile sucked in a deep breath and held it until he stopped shaking. Noir waited patiently, taking care to keep her anger out of her expression and body language. She could blow up later. Somewhere Sile wouldn't see and think himself the cause of her ire. "I didn't think I'd be able to get out of it this time."

Noir reached out slowly and placed her hands around Sile's. "Sile," she said, holding Sile's gaze so he could be certain of her sincerity, "I promise you, the only way you'll ever leave this ship is by your request or over my dead body." It was a possibility, and Noir couldn't promise that if she died Cade would be able to hold off his superior officers like Noir had been doing for years now.

Besides, "I doubt the rest of the crew will let you go without a massive fight." Noir added. Her eyes cut to the left. "Right, Rafi?"

Too-dark shadows writhed, black ink swirling upwards to form a young woman with dark hair. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sile. "You bet! You're _our_ ropemaker! Akainu can go _hang_."

Not how Noir would have put it, but appreciated all the same from Sile's wobbly smile. "Thanks." He said, and Noir ignored the lump in his throat and the shiny quality to his eyes.

Rafi and Noir left Sile quickly after that so the teen could break down in privacy. For which Noir was thankful. She _really_ didn't know how to deal with tears.

"He held up well." Rafi murmured. "Akainu had an escort when he hailed us. _Apparently_ ," her upper lip curled, "he was on route to deal with pirates over in West Blue. Convenient that he happened to pass our last reported vicinity and could personally order Sile's immediate transfer to his command."

Yeah, Noir called bullshit on that too.

"We couldn't exactly tell Akainu to take a swim." Rafi continued. Noir withheld a snort. Oh, but that would be so tempting. "So Cade accepted the written orders from Akainu before regretfully informing him of your standing orders to confirm all such transfer requests with Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

The younger woman smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "I didn't hear the conversation, but Akainu was most displeased when he left."

Noir was abruptly reminded of why she loved her crew. "Remind me to pick up something special for Fleet Admiral Sengoku." The man deserved it, putting up with all the idiots in Noir's absence. Noir was sorry about that, if only because of the inevitable headaches.

"Aye, aye." Rafi agreed. Of course she'd be happy about that. It meant they would make port somewhere known for excellent booze. Rafi grinned at Noir. "There were some interesting rumors going around headquarters."

Not this again. "Any rumors about my supposed pregnancy are Stupid." Noir told her Second Mate, her tone leaving no room for doubt. If Garp was behind this, Noir was going to steal the man's sake and toss his rice crackers into the ocean. Commanding officer or not.

Rafi pouted. "Aw. I wanted to see little Portgas' running around."

"Have your own damn kids."

"But imagine it!" Rafi insisted. Noir didn't have to. Dadan had shown her Ace's baby photos. Noir had a couple tucked away in her luggage. "A little girl or boy with freckles and red hair…"

Noir was not going to slam her head into the nearest horizontal surface. No matter how tempting it was. "I swear, you and Garp…" Noir growled. Why the hell did they insist on pairing her with Shanks? Nothing had ever happened between them and nothing ever would!

"I'm a Marine, not dead." Rafi told her dryly. "And Red Hair is _hot_. If he weren't so hung up on you, I'd _totally_ tap that."

Noir pinched the bridge of her nose. She was going to pretend she never heard that, because she did _not_ want those mental images in her head. "Rafi, I can't have kids with someone I'm going to _kill_."

Fuck that still hurt.

Rafi near screeched to a halt. "Wait, what? I thought we were _arresting_ Red Hair!"

The greying blonde leaned against the _Akatokuro's_ railing, feeling far older than her thirty-seven years. She didn't look at her subordinate, keeping her gaze stubbornly on the open sea. "The World Government will not be content to allow Shanks to rot in Impel Down." Noir managed after a moment. "His only future is the execution platform. It's time I stopped dancing around that fact."

Even if the World Government didn't execute Shanks, imprisonment would kill him just as surely. Shanks was a creature of freedom, of the open seas where nothing ruled over a man but Nature herself. Losing that freedom would wither Shanks' spirit. It would be a far crueler fate than the executioner's glaive.

No, if Shanks were to be imprisoned instead of executed, Noir would not arrest him. She would be merciful and kill him as a free man. It was the least she could do for her childhood friend.

"I'm sorry." Rafi said.

Noir sighed heavily. "I am too."

A moment of silence. Noir turned her face to the breeze and lost herself in the crashing waves and the calls of the albatrosses overhead.

Shanks would eventually end up on that blasted platform. It might take years. But sooner or later, if he didn't get himself killed, Shanks would slow down enough to be caught by the Marines. And Noir would watch Shanks die the same way as Roger.

The sooner Noir resigned herself to that, the better off she'd be.

Rafi leant up against the rail next to Noir. "We picked up several new crew members." She said, tone deliberately light and cheery. "They haven't learned not to bet against you yet."

Unbidden, Noir snorted. "You are a cruel, cruel woman."

Rafi grinned. "I learned from the best. Besides, the rookies have to learn sometime."

* * *

It was always fun to see the Rear Admiral clean out everyone's pockets. Well, provided you weren't the one sitting across from her at the poker table.

This was the third round of rookies. Those who'd already lost were ribbing their comrades as Noir won weeks of pay off them, all the while steadily drinking. Most would have been tipsy an hour ago, but Noir's cheeks only had a tinge of flush to them, and her gaze was still sharp.

Orion remembered being in the same position, years ago when he'd transferred to Noir's command. She'd cleaned him out of a month's worth of pay. Orion had held a grudge against the Captain for over a year before he attended another game night and watched the newest transfers - _victims_ \- suffer the same fate. Which was when everything had clicked and Orion _understood_.

Yes, the Rear Admiral routing her subordinates at cards was arguably unethical and an abuse of her position. Yes, someone could probably make a case for her breaking Marine protocols. Yes, it _sucked_ losing that much in one sitting.

But it did accomplish Noir's goal of uniting the crew and giving them a common ground. Everyone on the ship had lost money to Noir, and no one had ever won enough off her to make up for it. It was like playing against the House - given enough time, you would lose more than you won, and with Noir you already started out in the red.

It set the foundation upon which trust could be built between the crew. Noir's first priority wasn't the respect of her subordinates. No, it was trust between each other. Because Noir knew the veterans respected her enough, and that the rookies would learn to trust her or eventually transfer out. Which was fine in her book. What wasn't fine was the lack of trust between comrades getting them killed.

They were hunting a Yonko. They needed to trust each other to guard their backs, because the pirates certainly weren't going to give them any slack.

Of course, Orion also had the enviable position of knowing how Noir was so damn good at cards. Few people ever figured it out. Among the crew, Orion could count on one hand those in the know, and maybe a handful of others elsewhere.

Noir had an unparalleled mastery of Observation Haki. Orion had never met another person with as fine tuned Observation as Noir. It gave her such a detailed sense of another's emotions that they might as well wear their heart on their sleeve.

Orion asked once if that counted as cheating. Noir snorted. Some people had the skill to count cards, to read body launguage and minute tells, she argued. Noir could read a person's aura. Which wasn't a yes or a no.

Cheating or not, Noir was the undisputed Queen of Cards.

Orion caught Rafi discreetly making her way over to him, sliding between the various crew members. He didn't have any skill in Haki like most of the crew, but he had a good eye. Rafi wasn't her usual cheerful self underneath the smile she wore.

He stayed silent. If Rafi wanted to talk, she would. She knew Orion would lend a listening ear.

"We're going to kill Red Hair." Rafi muttered.

That was surprising. Orion raised his brows at Rafi. Noir had been adamant about arresting Red Hair, despite the fact that killing the Yonko would be much easier. What made the Rear Admiral change her mind?

Rafi shook her head. "We're still arresting Red Hair." She let out an explosive breath. "He'll still die though, and we'll be the cause of it, no matter we won't be the ones to swing the executioner's blade."

Orion frowned. He knew that already. Was Rafi saying she _hadn't_?

The woman in question scowled at Orion. "Why didn't you say anything?" Because it was _obvious_? Rafi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Noir isn't happy about it."

His expression went from deadpan to incredulous. _Noir_ hadn't realized they'd be bringing Red Hair in for execution? What did she think would happen? A prison sentence? Red Hair was a _Yonko_ and former _Roger pirate_.

"Red Hair and Noir are childhood friends." Rafi said, and Orion froze. He had not known that.

Everyone knew Noir and Red Hair had known each other for a long time. Hell, their interactions _screamed_ familiarity with each other. Orion thought that was from decades of clashes; that Red Hair's affection for Noir simple pirate insanity and Noir's fond exasperation her being accustomed to Red Hair's oddities. But childhood friends?

Well, shit.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING: Rafi is seriously fucked in the head, guys, so be prepared for graphic violence, torture, blood, and blatant sadism.**

 **In other news, holy _smokes_ it's been a long time. I'm really sorry about that guys, I did not mean for it to take this long. But this chapter is _four thousand words_ , so hopefully that makes up for the long wait!**

 **Shoutout to my beta, aghostperson, who has been a champion these past months.**

* * *

 _Ten of Swords, upright - Failure, collapse, defeat..._

* * *

 _June 1521_

Commander Calig Rafi, Second Mate of the _Akatokuro_ , was not happy.

Understatement of the century. None of the crew dared step within five feet of her, not with the expression of black fury etched into her face. Rafi appreciated their caution. She needed to kill someone, and with how utterly fucking pissed she was at the moment Rafi didn't particularly care who so long she could put a bullet in their head.

With any luck, it would be the sea-damned slavers they were currently chasing.

The _Akatokuro_ had stopped to resupply before continuing to the Red Line. They had received orders from Sengoku to return to Marineford, cutting their current chase of Red Hair short. Only for Noir to return to the ship after the brief shore leave and inform the crew of the slavers preying on the local islands over the past months. The delay to Headquarters was making the crew wary. Understandable for the rookies. Sengoku hadn't ordered them to return directly, but not many would presume to make the Fleet Admiral wait. The veterans weren't worried about that. A quick detour to take out slaves wouldn't make Sengoku do more than roll his eyes.

Their current course wasn't exactly sanctioned, given their standing orders, but it also wasn't prohibited either. Slavery _was_ illegal with summary execution as penalty. No, the rest of the crew was uneasy over the Noir's orders to kill every slaver on board, without exception, and spare only the victims. The woman wasn't usually so vicious.

Rafi was _delighted_.

Noir had told Rafi and Cade the details kept from the rest of the crew. Also unusual, Noir preferred to be as honest as possible with the crew. Classified information was one thing, and half the time even Rafi didn't get to hear that, but pirates were pretty much standard fare for Marines.

Except these fuckers apparently. According to Noir - and Rafi learned not to doubt the blonde's information sources years ago - their current prey was rumored to be on the payroll of the World Nobles. If even one slaver lived long enough to report who attacked them, Noir, Cade, and Rafi would likely find themselves in Impel Down in short order. Hopefully, ignorance would spare the rest of the crew in that case. Knowing the World Nobles, Rafi wasn't all that optimistic.

Safer to just exterminate the scum.

Rafi didn't give a damn about going against the World Nobles. Those pirates were _slavers_ who had kidnapped _children_. She wouldn't lose any sleep over this. Under Rafi's tattoos, old scars prickled and Rafi resisted the urge to rub her back. Those years were far behind her. No one would chain her down ever again, hit her, kick her, force her to eat _ash_ and _despair_ -

Oh no, Rafi was going to _enjoy_ the coming fight.

The Rear Admiral stepping up beside her pulled her back to the present. The woman's Haki had always been solid, grounding like a mountain. It was there and would not be moved for the world. Lately though, there was a… worn quality to Noir's aura. Once rich soil turned to dust, after years and years of work and now so exhausted that there was little left to give.

No wonder Smokey was so worried about her. Tired didn't even come fucking close.

Hands moved, signing at Rafi to focus. Rafi grimaced. It was near impossible to sneak anything past Noir's Observation. Her range was too far and precision to sharp. She was also the only one on board who could safely stand next to Rafi at the moment. As angry as Rafi was, as much as she wanted to kill someone and make them suffer, she would never be so stupid as to think she could take on her commanding officer.

She liked living, thanks.

Noir raised her right fist, and Rafi checked her ear plugs. Custom made for each Marine on the _Akatokuro_ and meant to block out all sound, they were issued to everyone who transferred to Noir's command. And damn did they work. Rafi couldn't hear anything but the blood pumping through her own ears.

Once everyone checked their ear plugs, the Rear Admiral raised a single finger.

The singing started. She couldn't hear it with her ears. Rather, it echoed through her very bones, changing in pitch and volume and Rafi could almost make out a tune. Curiosity rose through her anger for a moment, but the Rear Admiral's orders were clear. They were not to remove the earplugs under any circumstances before her command. And as curious as Rafi was, she was not curious enough to find out for herself if the legends of the Sirens were true, or how close Orion's Devil Fruit mimicked them.

Seeing the second hand effects was more than enough. The pirates, once miles away from them and hauling ass as fast as they could, were slowing down and turning towards them. Coming _back_. Yeah, she wasn't interested in experiencing the lure of Orion's voice without strict supervision.

Rafi bounced on the balls of her feet, teeth bared in a silent snarl that had Miohi of the starboard triple gun crew flinching away from her. Her orders were to get below deck and protect the kidnapped children until all the pirates were dealt with. Rafi would rather snap some necks instead, but she recognized that someone had to protect the children and her Devil Fruit made her a damn good choice.

By the time Noir signaled Orion to stop, the pirates were closing in on the _Akatokuro_. The humming stopped, and Rafi dug her earplugs out and tucked them away at the second signal. The pirates across from her were still dazed, but the quicker ones were already throwing off Orion's voice and realizing they were in deep shit.

"Board!" The Rear Admiral roared.

Rafi threw herself overboard, diving towards the side of the enemy ship. Her body collided hard, but instead of breaking her fingers and getting a nasty concussion, Rafi let her body splash into ink against the wood. _By the Sea_ , Rafi would never get used to that feeling. Seeping through the cracks of loosed hatches prepared to open for cannon fire at a moment's notice was the easy part. Maneuvering to the stairs leading to the lower decks was a bit harder. Thank fuck she had Observation Haki, or this would be a shit ton harder. No one noticed her, which if she had to guess was less to do with her stealth skills and more to do with the excellent distraction Noir was providing.

There were only about two dozen auras in the hold, ranging from small to _tiny_ , all of them huddled against the hull and trembling with fear. No adults, so Rafi reformed, rising from the floor and letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of the interior.

One of the kids whimpered, alerting the other kids to her presence. The others quickly shushed him. Rafi ground her teeth together so hard her molars creaked. Fucking _hell_ , none of the kids looked older than twelve and dammit all, Rafi was going to need to mutilate at least one damn pirate by the end of this.

Not now though. The kids didn't deserve the brunt of her anger. Right now, she needed to keep a lid on it and put her less than lawful teenage years to good use.

"Commander Calig Rafi of the Marines." She told them, doing her best to keep her voice soft and non-threatening. Her fingers worked at the hem of her shorts and she held up a set of lock picks for the kids to see a second later. "Any of you know how to pick locks?"

A breath of silence as the kids traded uncertain glances. A boy nodded. A street rat, she would guess. Maybe ten, but he looked like he was eight with his height and had definitely missed more than a fair share of meals. Snatched because it was easy, not because the slavers expected to make any profit off him, the bastards. Rafi unlocked his cuffs and collar before handing him the picks and setting him to start on the other end of the hold, _away_ from the stairs.

Rafi began on the other end, sending each freed kid towards the back. The cuffs and collars were standard fare - even the kid should have no problem.

Even as she worked, Rafi's Observation was stretched back towards the stairs. And if the first pirate to get suspicious about the noise down bellow got a handful of ink shoved down his throat, well, Rafi didn't particularly care beyond making sure he didn't fall down the stairs. Of course, the idiot's writhing attracted his fellows, who finally realized not all the Marines were on deck. They tried to reclaim the hold, but well, possession was indeed nine tenths of the law and Rafi was only too happy to prove it.

She'd just ripped apart the last pirate below deck when Haki hit her like a tidal wave. Rafi staggered and dropped the dead pirate. Behind her, the children dropped like flies.

 _Shit_. Rafi coughed, trying to pull air into tightened lungs. Noir almost _never_ used Conqueror's Haki - only ever to keep the crew from being overwhelmed against superior numbers and against Red Hair's own Haki. If she'd pulled her Haki out _now_ , who the fuck did she run into and how did they sneak under Noir's Observation?!

The Conqueror's Haki wasn't fading. And it was strong - too strong.

 _This wasn't Noir._

Dammit legs, _move_. Rafi's needed to work on her Observation, she couldn't sense _shit_ right now. No threats, so who the fuck-

On deck, Rafi skidded to a halt. Only a handful of people were still standing, a few more conscious but flat on their asses. All Marines, thank the Sea, so Rafi ignored that because Sile was knelt half over Noir, who was _unconscious_ and _bleeding_ , and _why_ _was_ _there so much blood_ -

Cade was barking orders, Rafi dimly realized. Dr. Sin and his aide Kita rushed in with a stretcher. Sile whimpered, his hold tightening on Noir and the Haki pulsed. Rafi's knees hit the deck, black spots dancing in her vision and she _couldn't breathe!_

A moment later Cade chopped the back of Sile's neck, and the teen hit the deck like a bag of wet sand. The Haki disappeared. Rafi sucked in a lungful of air, oh _sweet blessed air._

She stared at the ropemaker. Fucking - that was _Sile_?

Rafi didn't have time to ponder. "Commander!" Cade barked. "Report!"

"Twenty kids, all alive." Rafi said, pulling herself to her feet. "All freed." She could feel their auras huddled together, well away from the chains. "Permission to relocate?" They'd respond better to her - they knew her, however briefly - than an unknown.

Cade nodded sharply. "Do so. Aria will get them settled." Grey eyes turned flinty. "Deal with the remaining pirates after."

Oh. _Oh_. A grin spread across Rafi's lips. "Aye, aye, sir."

Rafi practically skips on her way down to the hold. The Commodore was being _so_ nice, giving her a gift like that. Entering the hold, Rafi forcibly suppressed her glee. No traumatizing the kids. Noir would not be pleased with her when she woke up.

 _If_ she woke up-

Rafi silenced that line of thought. Noir _would_ wake up. Otherwise, well, Rafi refused to be held accountable for any actions she would take as a result.

Rousing the children wasn't all that difficult. Getting them to follow her out of the hold was surprisingly more so.

"I want my mom!" A girl sobbed, holding tight to one of the older kids.

Rafi crouched in front of her. "I know." She said softly. Oh, how Rafi knew. "I promise, we'll do our best to get you all back home and with your families."

The boy she gave her lock picks stared her down. "Promise?" He asked, haunted green eyes boring into Rafi's blue.

Rafi met his gaze unflinchingly. "Yes." His shoulders lost their tension, and around her, the other kids relaxed in response. "Were any of you branded?"

A chorus of denials, ringing true through Rafi's Observation. Rafi let out a relieved breath. Thank fuck for small miracles. It wasn't impossible to cover up the Hoof of the Dragon, but it wasn't easy and it hurt like a bitch.

"I'm going to bring you to a good friend of mine." Rafi told them. "She's the cook of my ship, and she can get you all some food before we find you some bunks to sleep in, alright?"

"You aren't staying?" The little girl asked, lower lip trembling.

Rafi gave her a small smile. "I'm the second-in-command." For the moment, at least. "I've got a couple things I need to do, but I will come find you guys when I'm done alright? It won't be more than a couple hours."

She was not going to mention that the 'things' she needed to do was kill the last pirates. Nor would she mention that she was looking forward to it.

No traumatizing the kids.

While still wary, Rafi managed to get them out of the hold and across the makeshift bridge Chopsticks slapped together for them. Aria was waiting for them, thankfully, with a gentle smile and the smell of something delicious wafting out from the galley. With a reassuring nod from Rafi, the kids followed Aria.

Rafi turned back to the pirate ship. Zoi's team was securing the surviving pirates away from the growing pile of corpses. Twelve men - already awake, good. The Rear Admiral could be _dying_ because of them. Rafi wanted them to see their own deaths coming.

Now, how should she enjoy this? Choices, choices…

She crouched in front of the first tied up pirate, eyeing him. The man stared back at her, calm and resigned. Oh that wouldn't do, oh no not at all. She wanted to hear him scream, wanted him to beg for a mercy that wouldn't be coming.

There, further down the line. A young man in the middle. He was a handful of years older than Sile at most, and already trembling. Rafi stood, pulled out one of her pistols, and shot the young man's knee. Her expression never changed as blood and bone painted the deck a lovely red.

Oh the screams were music to her ears and a balm to her soul.

Her second pistol was also loaded, but there was no reason to rush this. Cade had so graciously given her this gift, she was going to take her time and enjoy it. Rafi loaded another bullet into her first pistol, cocked the hammer back, and took aim the other knee. The second scream was as beautiful as the first.

"Tera!" Rafi barked. The sniper snapped to attention, his expression giving no clue what he thought of the show. "Throw this gentleman overboard. If he tries to climb back out, shoot him." The man still had to working arms after all, and Rafi had seen desperate men do incredible things for survival.

Rafi reloaded her pistol again and crouched before another pirate. Not the first one, no. He was still stone faced. Oh no, she intended to break that one.

The man in front of her shook and the sharp scent of urine filled the air as he lost control of his bladder. Rafi caressed his face with the end of his pistol. "Oh, don't worry darling." She told him gently. "I'm going to take such good care of you." The pirate sobbed, and finally, Rafi allowed herself to grin.

She so loved it when she was allowed to play.

* * *

When Sile woke, the first thing he noticed was that he was _not_ in his berth. In fact, he was fairly certain he was looking at the ceiling of the medical bay.

And there was Sin, frowning at Sile. A look the teen was used to, to be honest. The doctor had not been pleased with the Rear Admiral dragging Sile to the medical bay a year back for being underweight. A few months of health checks everyday - complete with frowns ranging form Disappointed to Irritated to the scary as hell _Thoughtful_ \- had ensured that Sile was usually diligent in making certain he never ended up in Sin's territory again.

Especially because _that_ is the Irritated Frown. Not good.

"Noir is awake from her surgery." Sin told him, tone brisk and words clipped with impatience. "She will make a full recovery. I expect you to keep your composure, or I _will_ sedate you again. We don't need you knocking out half the crew again."

Wait, what?

It was then that Sile recalled the fight. The Rear Admiral - she took a _bullet_ for him, had gone down and hadn't gotten back up. There'd been _so much blood_ …

There'd been something in his chest, a feeling like a tidal wave roaring in his ears, but through his entire body instead. Marines and pirates had dropped like flies, taking out the remaining threats to the Rear Admiral.

He remembered Sin and Kita trying to take the Rear Admiral. And then nothing.

Hold on - "Did someone knock me out?"

Sin sniffed. "Twice."

" _Twice_?" Sile parroted. Sharp eyes narrowed, and Sile froze. Shit, what did he say to piss him off?

He yelped when Sin flashed his pen light into his right eye without warning. "You woke while Noir was in surgery. According to Cade, you unleashed Conqueror's Haki in your distress." The flashlight moved to his left eye, back to his right, then returned to his left before Sin tucked it back into his pocket. "You don't recall?"

Sile shook his head, dumbfounded. He had _Conqueror's Haki_?

It had to be a mistake. Conqueror's Haki was a mark of the heavens' favor, proof that one possessed the qualities of a king! Sile wasn't _anything_ like that! He was the no-good Marine, the _Akatokuro's_ screw up, and the Rear Admiral's charity case.

"Hmm." Sin's gaze slid out of focus, the doctor immersing himself in his Observation Haki. The doctor didn't have the Rear Admiral's range, but his Observation was even _more_ precise than hers, and he often used it to supplement his diagnostics. "Side effect of the concussion."

Sile blinked. How hard did they hit him to knock him out?

"The Conqueror's Haki during surgery was _not_ appreciated." Sin said, gathering a number of instruments. Sile winced. "I'd rather not deal with it again, so _I_ will be the one to render you unconscious if you cannot - how did Rafi put it? - _keep a lid on it._ "

Sin's tone made it clear he would not be nearly so nice in doing so.

Sile meekly nodded, and kept his mouth shut through Sin's check up. He did however peek once or twice at the other bed in the medical bay, privacy curtain drawn.

"Noir is awake. You may visit so long as you behave."

Alright, maybe he peeked more than once or twice. Sile bolted from his cot.

The Rear Admiral was sitting up in her cot, reading a book. Sile skidded to a stop by her bed and frantically looked her over. There were bandages wrapped around her upper chest, thicker over where she'd been shot, but Sile couldn't see anything wrong…

Behind him, Sin gave an offended huff. Sile cringed.

The Rear Admiral's lips twitched up into a small smile. "I'm alright, Sile."

Sile burst into tears.

The Rear Admiral froze, eyes wide like a startled rabbit. Sile wasn't surprised. Rafi and Aria were the ones to go to with tears, or Orion if you needed silent company. The Rear Admiral… was not that great at it.

Not as bad as she used to be. The Rear Admiral unfroze and opened her arms for a hug. Sile hesitated. She didn't look very sure of herself, but she was offering, and Sile _really_ wanted a hug and she _had_ _told_ him he could always come to her for anything he needed. Taking care not to jar her injury, Sile wrapped his arms around her.

She was a bit too stiff, and her attempts at rubbing his back were a bit jerky, but she was trying and he really appreciated it. Most importantly, she didn't mind him crying into her shirt.

Sin wouldn't be too happy though.

The Rear Admiral's arms tightened, preventing him from jerking away at that thought. "It's fine, Sile."

"You nearly _died_ , Rear Admiral." Sile mumbled into her shoulder. He shuddered. "There was so much blood." He never wanted to see that much blood ever again.

"Sin mentioned it was a close call." She said, her voice vibrating through her chest. "He also said I'll make a full recovery, so if you try to say how it should have been you I will assign you to morning combat training with Rafi."

 _Eep_. Sile's mouth clicked shut. Commander Rafi was _mean_ in the mornings!

After a moment longer, the Rear Admiral allowed Sile to lean back and take the chair by her cot. There was a flicker of relief, probably at the lack of tears. Sile felt a bit of amusement at the irony. The Rear Admiral could face down the worst pirates without blinking, only to panic at the sight of tears.

"I hear you awakened your Conqueror's."

Sile shook his head. "But I _can't_ have Conqueror's!"

The Rear Admiral raised a brow. "Oh, why not?"

"Because it's _me_."

"So?" She challenged, brown eyes steely. "If you're thinking of the belief that having Conqueror's Haki is the sign of a king or something, I can tell you that it's absolute hogwash. Haki is nothing more than _willpower_ , and Conqueror's Haki is merely a manifestation of the strongest wills."

Huh? "Then why is it so rare?"

The Rear Admiral's smirk was wry. "The strength required to impose your will over another person is monumental, Sile. Hell, imposing your will on yourself is hard enough - why do you think the Marines teach Rokushiki before Haki? It's essentially Haki training wheels."

But - "Rear Admiral, Sin said I knocked out _half the crew_." Sile said. He didn't even remember doing it!

"Three quarters, to be precise. You're a lot stronger than me if you can do that by accident."

He was stronger than the Rear Admiral. Which made him the strongest in the entire Marine Corps. Oh seas. Sile blanched. He wasn't going to be able to stay with the _Akatokuro_. The Rear Admiral could keep him when he was just a young Marine with a weak Devil Fruit, but now? Now he'd screwed even that up by somehow having freaking Conqueror's Haki.

A poke to his forehead. "You're _my_ brat." The Rear Admiral said sternly. One of these days, Sile vowed to figure out how she could seemingly read minds. "I promised you didn't I?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do you _want_ to leave?"

"No-!"

"Then I stand by my promise." She said. "You'll need training, but that's part of the plan anyway."

Sile warily eyed the smirk on the Rear Admiral's face. He knew that look. It never boded well. For anyone. He wasn't going to ask. If he didn't know, he couldn't be held responsible.

* * *

 **It's update time again! I've got two more chapters ready to go, and the last five all planned out. So here's a deal for you all: I'm going to post the chapters in week intervals, unless I get a bunch of reviews, in which case I'll post the next one sooner. Deal?**

 **So Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**There is a deleted scene for this chapter that I plopped over in An Albatross Around Your Neck, so be sure to check that out!**

 **I ended up rewriting this chapter several times, because holy crap Noir and Sengoku were not cooperating.**

* * *

 _Six of Wands, upright - Victory, success, public reward..._

* * *

 _July 1521_

Sengoku needed a rubber stamp. One with his signature, so he didn't have to spend the majority of his day dealing with the stacks of hellspawn on his desk. This was not what he imagined doing when he first enlisted in the Marines all those years ago.

Taking the next stack of paperwork, Sengoku scanned the top document. He got as far as reading the transfer request for one of Noir's subordinates before he crumpled the form and tossed it at his trash can - which was already overflowing with similar bullshit requests. By the Sea, how stupid were people? There was a _reason_ Noir's various crew members were transferred to her command in the first place.

The knock at his office door was regarded with suspicion. It could either herald a well-deserved break or even more of the blasted paperwork. "Enter."

It was Noir. Sengoku's brows shot to his hairline and he nearly did a double take. Noir was wearing her officer's coat. The woman _never_ wore the officer's coat, claiming it got in her way. Annoying and against uniform policy, but as a Rear Admiral she had enough leeway to get away with it and as far as quirks went, it wasn't that bad.

Her hair was also down. Well, mostly down, she had about half of it held at the back of her head with a flower clip, but the rest of it was left to tumble down her back and the front of her chest. Sengoku didn't think he'd ever seen her hair _not_ hiked back in a ponytail.

He wasn't going to ask. It wasn't his business, and he wasn't certain he'd like the answer anyway. Garp had trained her, and she'd already picked up a couple of his quirks. He didn't want to know if she'd picked up a couple others - from Garp or otherwise.

Besides, he had more important business than pondering Noir's sudden change to her appearance. "You're late." He expected her two weeks ago.

"My apologies, sir." The moment the door closed behind her, Noir shed the officer's coat and draped it over the chair in front of his desk. She tossed a file onto his desk, thankfully _not_ knocking over any of the carefully balanced piles of paper. Sengoku opened her report and began to read as Noir gingerly sat in the chair.

It was an… _interesting_ read. Mostly in what the report didn't say. A tip off received about pirates raiding an archipelago while en route to Headquarters. Not that surprising, from Noir. Somewhat vexing, she could have mentioned she'd be making a detour. No mention of who supplied the information, meaning it was one of Noir's many Underworld contacts. He didn't like it. Her contacts might be useful, but they were still criminals. Unfortunately, Noir kept her contacts well protected. Sengoku couldn't have them arrested if no one knew who they were.

The mention of Noir's injury had Sengoku pinning the Rear Admiral with a sharp look. Noir had swept the rest of her hair back, revealing the scar under her left breast bone. The circle of fresh healed skin was about an inch in diameter and concave like someone had taken a spoon and scooped out a portion of Noir's flesh. Sengoku recognized that kind of wound. That was the _exit_ wound from someone _shooting Noir in the back_.

The woman was lucky to be alive.

He wanted to ask, but Sengoku forced himself to finish the report first. A sound decision, because the rest of the report only brought up more questions.

"Are the children alright?" He asked. Twenty children rescued. Only the Sea knew how many those pirates had captured before Noir took them down.

Noir nodded. "Bumps and bruises. One broken arm, but nothing Sin and Kita couldn't handle." She smiled, an unexpectedly soft expression crossing her face. "We returned them to their homes as best we could. I won't be surprised if a few enlist in several years. They took a serious shine to Rafi and Sile."

That was pleasing to hear. With the influx of pirates since Roger's thrice-damned speech, an influx that still hadn't subsided twenty years after the fact, the Marines always needed new recruits.

"How long are you benched?" That was not a simple flesh wound. Sengoku was amazed Noir wasn't dead - hell, it was probably only thanks to that damn good doctor of hers that she was still breathing at all, much less on her way to a full recovery.

The woman scowled. "Another month." Doctor's orders then, Sengoku was quite curious how the doctor was enforcing that. Stubborn was a polite way to describe Noir. "Cade will take over as commanding officer in my absence."

A more than acceptable choice. If Noir wouldn't be sure to make his life hell for it, Sengoku would have promoted the man to Rear Admiral and given him his own ship by now. Which meant Sengoku needed to prepare himself for another influx of requests for Noir's subordinates.

He tapped his finger against the paragraph mentioning Noir's injury, a frown marring his brow. Something was pinging on his memory. "How did someone get the drop on you?" It was near impossible to surprise the woman, and no one had ever managed to land a life threatening injury on her before now.

"I don't know."

"I beg your pardon?" Sengoku can't quite hide his disbelief.

Noir's face was thunderous. She dug something out of her pocket, tossing it on the desk. Sengoku opened the small paper envelop, dumping the remains of a bullet into his palm. "None of the living pirates had firearms. That bullet came out of _nowhere_."

Sengoku stared at the bullet and cursed. No wonder this sounded familiar. He opened a drawer and grabbed the top file, flipping it open. _Damn_. A picture of bullet fragments, identical to the ones Noir handed over a moment ago, stared up at him from the reports of two different attacks on Marine officers. A Vice Admiral and a Rear Admiral, both dead.

"I need everything you know about this shooter. Now." Someone was killing his Marines.

Noir shifted, lips pursed as she ordered her thoughts, but grimaced, hand hovering over her injury. "Can't rely on Armament Haki. It tore through mine like it wasn't even there."

"A Haki user then?"

But Noir was already shaking her head. "I _don't know_. I had almost no warning at all. One moment, nothing; the next my instincts are screaming at me. No intent beforehand," Brown eyes locked with Sengoku's, deadly serious in a way that had iron settling into Sengoku's gut, "because there were _no_ unaccounted shooters within my Haki range."

Sengoku's blood ran cold. Noir's range was a _thirty mile radius_. He needed to get spies and scientists working on this immediately, to figure out who this was and how the fuck they were doing it.

He should warn any officer above the rank of captain while he was at it. Just in case.

Sengoku extracted the last page of Noir's report, which wasn't part of the report at all. It was a request for a month long training sabbatical for Petty Officer Ten Sile. "What is the reason for this?" Noir didn't do training sabbaticals. She trained her crew on the job - in Paradise or the Blues if the New World was too dangerous.

"I intend to beat Sile into the ground until he wakens either his Observation or Armament Haki." Noir grumped.

Sengoku gave her a _look_. That could be done on her ship, by Commodore Cade or Commander Rafi during Noir's absence.

Noir sighed. "Sile awakened his Conqueror's Haki when I got shot."

This time, Sengoku did do a double take. Noir's young ropemaker - who was the most timid Marine Sengoku had ever seen - had _Conqueror's Haki_? "Why isn't that in your report?" He demanded. Damn it, that was crucial information!

The look Noir pinned Sengoku with was irritated, and her tone was clipped. "Sile _cannot_ control his Conqueror's." She informed him shortly. "It's easy to call up, _stupidly_ so, but he can't shut it off on his own. He knocked out over three quarters of the crew!" She blew out an explosive breath. "He needs time and space to train until he isn't a danger to his own comrades."

Shit. Sengoku wasn't certain if that is a good thing or a bad thing. The kid's Haki is strong enough to knock out most of Noir's crew - a crew that regularly clashed with the Red Hair pirates and was the most resistant to Conqueror's Haki of any Marine crew. Any other crew would get _flattened_ if Sile couldn't control his Haki.

Not that the other officers would see it that way. They'd only see the Conqueror's Haki on top of the kid's Devil Fruit. They wouldn't understand that Conqueror's Haki needed to be trained, like any other skill. But from what Noir had mentioned in the past, it couldn't be trained conventionally like Observation or Armament. Sile would have to practice and figure it out for himself. Until then, anyone in the vicinity would simply be collateral.

Once Sile got it under control though? The boy was much stronger than Noir if he could take out nearly the entire crew without any effort. He doubted the kid was as strong as Red Hair, but Sengoku didn't think anyone would ever be as strong as Red Hair. Given how rare Conqueror's Haki was, the kid didn't need to be to become a force to be reckoned with. If Sile grew a spine alongside his Haki, Sengoku expected the boy would make a formidable officer in a few years.

The poaching attempts were going to triple. _At least_. Sengoku could already see the piles forming.

"How long will it take to train the boy?"

"It took me two years to control mine." Noir replied, tone thoughtful, and Sengoku raised his brows. Noir was the only Marine to know all three types of Haki _before_ she enlisted. How young had she been when she awakened it? "Another five years to finesse it, but my training was rather specialized." She admitted. "For Sile? I'd guess two or three years."

Sengoku grunted, irritable and no longer bothered to hide it. "You've got a year. I might be able to get you a year and a half before he's transferred out." Noir scowled, but Sengoku silenced her with a glare. "You're only a Rear Admiral, Noir. I've stalled your superiors out of respect for Sile's age, but it doesn't change the facts! You've got _four_ Devil Fruit users - _twenty percent_ of the Marine Corps. Keeping that and both Marines capable of Conqueror's Haki is a waste of Marine resources. I know you've got a soft spot for the boy, but Sile turns eighteen next year. He's no longer a child."

Noir's expression could only be described as mulish. "What will it take for me to keep Sile?"

The only thing required was Sengoku's order. He knew that. Noir knew that. She was asking what Sengoku wanted her to do in order for him to give that order.

To be honest, Sengoku wanted to retire in the next few years. He was over seventy years old. He was already evaluating his Admirals for a successor, and so far Kuzan was his favored choice. However, he also needed a replacement Admiral, and out of all the Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals, Noir topped his short list of candidates. She was young, not yet forty, and not likely to retire for another two decades. She was also strong - stronger than all the Vice Admirals barring her own mentor Garp - without the perk of having a Devil Fruit.

The woman was also as stubborn as Garp. She'd refused the promotion to Rear Admiral for five years, only accepting after she picked up her ropemaker. She should have been a Vice Admiral over a decade ago - no one strong enough to clash with a _Yonko_ on a regular basis deserved less.

From the sour look on Noir's face, she knew exactly what Sengoku wanted. But there was resignation as well, and Sengoku knew he'd won. "You have to stay for the promotion ceremony." He told her. The face she pulled in response to _that_ was highly amusing. The same hatred of publicity as Garp, only Noir wasn't nearly as frustrating as Garp was.

Noir nodded once, grudgingly.

Sengoku signed his approval of Sile's training sabbatical. "Who's training him?" After all, Noir was still on medical leave.

She grinned, a lazy smirk that didn't bode well for her ropemaker. "I've already talked to Garp."

Oh no. That poor kid.

* * *

 **As always, please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Short chapter this time around.**

 **Also: a quick clarification since I got a couple questions about it - Noir was promoted to Vice Admiral. Sengoku plans to nominate Aokiji as Fleet Admiral when he retires and wants Noir to take Aokiji's spot as Admiral.**

* * *

 _Page of Wands, upright - Exploration, excitement, freedom..._

* * *

 _Late July, 1522_

For the life of him, Smoker could not reconcile the bounty poster with the clown standing in front of him. And _no_ , he wasn't talking about the pirate that was actually dressed as a clown. Black hair and eyes? Check. Scar below the left eye? Check. Straw hat and rubber body? Check and double check. Seriously, this man was worth 30 million?

Monkey D. Luffy grinned at him. "I won't lose here!" He declared, cracking his knuckles. It might have been intimidating, were the brat not barely over five and a half feet and skinny as a bean pole. "I'm going to enter the Grand Line and become King of the Pirates!"

Smoker was distinctly unimpressed. He remembered Roger's execution, remembered the aura surrounding the man. Even cuffed and half-starved from his imprisonment, blades against his neck, there had been no denying Roger's power. His speech before his death had only cemented that in the minds of everyone present.

He'd asked Noir once, years ago, how Roger had finally been captured. Garp perhaps? One of the Admirals? Noir had been a Marine at the time, under Garp's command even, so Smoker figured she knew. Noir's face had gone strangely blank, hardening until it seemed to be carved from stone. She'd told him, in a flat tone of voice that suggested any further questions on the subject would be most unwelcome, that the King of the Pirates had turned himself in.

That was all Noir ever said on the topic. It made sense to Smoker though, that no one had ever been strong enough to capture him. Of course, that left the question of _why_ Roger turned himself in at all. But it didn't matter any more.

For Straw Hat to make such a claim? Absolutely ridiculous.

"You won't be spouting such rubbish for long." Smoker snarled. Because damn it all, King of the Pirates was a title he could respect, if only for the sheer power of it's bearer. He would not allow this upstart to make a mockery of it!

With a momentary thought, Smoker's arms wisped into smoke and billowed around Straw Hat. Another half-thought gave the smoke tangibility, allowing him to lift the idiot into the air.

"I ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit." Smoker said. And hadn't Noir teased him endlessly about the irony. Rafi had too, but the Ink Logia had no room to tease given her full name sounded like _calligraphy_. "My body is made of smoke!"

He slammed the pirate into the ground. "Is that all you have?" He mocked. He expected more from Garp's grandson. Straw Hat's poster might not have his surname, but the resemblance was uncanny, and Smoker _had_ met the Vice Admiral before.

The black coated fist connecting with his face was a complete and _unpleasant_ surprise. It was only his years of experience sparring with Noir - who was a ruthless sparring partner and needed a new definition of what was appropriate for a friendly spar - that enabled Smoker to dodge the rest of the barrage. He eyed Straw Hat. This situation had turned a lot more serious. Where the _fuck_ did this brat learn _Haki_ in _East Blue_? Haki was rare even in the first half of the Grand Line! Most pirate capable of the skill stuck to the New World, and so the Marines didn't start teaching Haki until one reached the rank of Vice Admiral.

Noir's crew was the exception, but if she wanted to teach Haki to her subordinates, she wasn't exactly going to let anyone tell her 'no.'

Unfortunately, Smoker hadn't learned Haki during his time under her command. He'd been a new Devil Fruit user - _not_ a baby Devil Fruit user no matter what Rafi said - and more concerned about keeping his body from flying off in smoke. His three years on the _Akatokuro_ were spent learning control and learning how to fight Haki users and other Logias. Because Logias who thought themselves invincible died young, and Noir would not stand Smoker or Rafi getting cocky enough to die from Stupid. If they did die in such a way, Smoker had no doubt Noir would drag their asses back from the afterlife just to kill them herself.

While he couldn't use Haki, he did know how to fight it. Not only from Noir's lectures, and he'd heard those enough times to have memorized them, but also from personal experience. Straw Hat wasn't even close to Noir's skill level.

Faster than Straw Hat could react, Smoker exploded into smoke. He threw the pirate into the air and brought him back down hard before materializing over him. "Do you get it now? You won't ever make it to the Grand Line!" Smoker scoffed and shook his head. He reached for the jitte on his back. "You might be worth 30 million, but your luck just ran out.

Another hand grabbed the hilt, preventing Smoker from drawing his weapon. "I wouldn't say that." A deep voice said. Smoker looked back, and bit back a slew of swears.

What the ever loving _fuck_ was _Dragon the Revolutionary_ doing here?

There was no way Smoker could take him. Trying would only get Noir to hunt him down and punt him through several walls. Still, Smoker could buy time. "The government wants your head." He growled.

Dragon grinned, and fucking hell that was a terrifying grin. "The world is waiting for our answer."

 _Our_? Who was Dragon talking about? The Revolutionaries? Smoker didn't have time to ponder. Winds gusted from nowhere with the force of a hurricane, sending both Smoker and Straw Hat tumbling through the streets. By the time the winds died, Straw Hat was nowhere to be seen.

That wouldn't do more than slow Smoker down. He knew this town like the back of his hand. Noir had won that contest after Smoker had gotten turned around chasing the fleeing Sea Dog pirates. Noir hadn't had any sympathy for him, and the damage to his wallet ensured Smoker fixed that gap in his knowledge very quickly indeed. Straw Hat needed to get to his ship to enter the Grand Line. Stop the ship, stop the entire crew.

Luck was not on his side. When Smoker reached the docks, the ship had already set sail with a favorable tailwind. By the time he could get a ship ready to pursue, they would be long gone.

What was that man? To have had such a favorable wind in the middle of a storm, appearing and disappearing on the same day of the Pirate King's execution…

Straw Hat's near execution flashed before his eyes. The same smile as Roger. _'I'm going to enter the Grand Line and become King of the Pirates._ '

Smoker didn't believe in omens. He'd scoffed at Noir's deck of tarot cards more than once. It was always chance and coincidence, twisting events to fit the prediction.

There was coincidence, and then there was whatever the hell just happened that day. Smoker knew, deep in his bones, if anyone had a shot at Roger's title it was Straw Hat. Smoker grinned, sharp and full of teeth.

He would just have to chase down Straw Hat and stop him then.

* * *

 **Please Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Posted early for spiritedfaraway, who went and reviewed _every single chapter_. You are amazing and I love you.**

* * *

 _Three of Cups, reversed - Overindulgence, gossip, isolation..._

* * *

 _A Couple Days Later_

"Why didn't you mention Straw Hat can use Haki?!"

It was a good thing Sengoku's office doors were so thick, Noir mused. That shout had almost been loud enough to rattle the window panes. The Fleet Admiral was _not_ happy. Noir had never seen Sengoku's eye twitch that bad before.

Garp huffed. "I never taught my grandson Haki."

"Someone had to - the brat's from _East Blue_."

Noir withheld a snort. Sure, East Blue as a whole was the weakest of the Seas. But it made up for that reputation by producing several of the strongest figures in history - Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, Garp, Dragon, Luffy, Yasopp, Benn Beckman to name a few. All of them geniuses in their own ways.

"Well, I _don't_ -" Garp cut himself off, so suddenly both Noir and Sengoku glanced at him in surprise. Garp turned to Noir, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Noir, where _exactly_ did you take your vacation three years ago?"

There was no point in lying. Not when it would only take a couple calls from either Sengoku or Garp to learn the truth. "East Blue." She shrugged. "Dawn Island. Very quiet, very relaxing." When Luffy wasn't around. That boy simply did not have an off switch.

A vein throbbed in Garp's temple. "Was my grandson able to use Haki when you were there?"

Garp already knew the answer to that. "Luffy didn't know what Haki was when I met him." Noir said bluntly. She was _still_ pissed about that. She knew Garp's training methods weren't exactly comprehensive regarding theory or more intellectual work, but that was a major oversight for a man claiming to train Luffy to become a strong Marine.

Sengoku snarled. "Why did you train a pirate in Haki?"

Uh oh. Sengoku was _furious_. She needed to do damage control here. Noir raised a brow, affecting an unimpressed expression. "I did _not_ train a pirate; I trained a fifteen year old brat. And by training, I mean I beat him into the ground a few times." Every day, but they didn't need to know that, "Luffy waking his Haki was _not_ intentional."

Sengoku's Haki twisted, stretching out to try to determine the truth of her words. Noir kept her own Haki smooth - without so much as a ripple to give away her lie.

"Why were you beating up my grandson?" Garp asked, very nicely drawing Sengoku's attention to himself.

This time, Noir did not bother holding back her snort. Garp had _no_ grounds to protest Noir's training methods. Sure, her training was harsh, and Sin usually glared at her for having to set the occasional broken bone, but she never put anyone's life in danger. Unlike Garp, who threw Luffy against the local wildlife without supervision. "You've met Luffy, haven't you? He's an annoying little _fuck_." A deflection, but no less true. She lost count of how many times Luffy had tested her patience.

Noir was pleased Luffy's Haki ability was annoying Garp though. Her vengeance was complete, and she even got Sengoku as a bonus.

The Fleet Admiral growled at her. "Whether it was intentional or not is irrelevant! Straw Hat is the only pirate to get past Smoker and enter the Grand Line in three years!"

Smoker was still stationed in Loguetown? Huh, Noir thought he would have transferred somewhere else by now. Smoker was never one for staying in one place for long. But if Smoker was the Loguetown base commander- "How the hell did Luffy get past Smoker?" Noir demanded. Haki or not, Smoker should have been able to take Luffy. Noir would have to give him remedial lessons in fighting Haki users next time they met. Smoker clearly needed them.

"He had unexpected help." Sengoku ground out, and from his expression the admittance was grudging. "Dragon interfered and allowed Straw Hat to escape."

Noir's brows shot to her hairline. Dragon, as in _Dragon the Revolutionary_? What the hell was he doing in East Blue? And why would he help _Luffy_?

Garp grinned. "He did see his son off then!"

Hold on- his _son_?

Sea-damned _Monkeys_. Why couldn't they make any sense?

But that answered her question of where the hell one of Luffy's parents was and why they weren't taking care of the brat. Not that it excused Dragon for up an abandoning Luffy to Garp's less than acceptable 'care.' If Noir ever met Dragon she was going to punch him in the nose, World's Most Wanted Man or not.

Sengoku snarled, slamming a fist that shook the paperwork piled on his desk. "This isn't a good thing, Garp! Straw Hat is the first pirate from East Blue since Fire-Fist Ace!"

"Haha! Those are my grandsons!"

Noir rolled her eyes. Typical Garp. But Noir didn't understand Sengoku's worry. "How are Luffy and my nephew different from any other pirate to try their luck on the Grand Line?"

"Other pirates aren't the sons of Dragon the Revolutionary and Gold Roger the Pirate King!"

Noir snapped her attention to Sengoku, her blood running cold. How the _fuck_ did Sengoku find out Ace's parentage? Garp was no longer laughing.

She steeled herself. "Again, how are they any different?"

"Don't play dumb, Noir." Sengoku said. "Those two are the sons of notorious criminals. The threat they pose-"

"Is no different than any other pirate!" Noir snapped. "Bloodline has fuck all to do with it!" By the Sea, Noir _hated_ that kind of logic. Noir's father was a mountain bandit and a right bastard. For fuck's sake, Noir was raised by _Rouge_ and the _Roger Pirates_ ; none of them were law-abiding citizens! But did Noir follow in their footsteps? No!

And the opposite was just as true. _Dragon's_ father was Garp! Hero of the Marines! Yet instead of working as a Marine and serving the World Government, Dragon was doing his level best to tear it down!

"Straw Hat and Fire-Fist are pirates." Sengoku said.

Oh, _she hadn't noticed_. "Luffy and Ace could have joined the Marines without a problem." Noir replied, acid dripping from every word. "At least until someone found out who their fathers are. Then their service records wouldn't matter; they'd be up on an execution platform faster than they could say 'Justice,' and everyone who once called them comrade wouldn't say a word against it because they'd be to busy calling for their heads to roll!"

Garp and Sengoku scowled.

Noir's lip curled. "Tell me I'm wrong." They couldn't, and they knew it. Noir huffed. "My nephew isn't stupid. Hot-headed and stubborn, but not stupid." She said flatly. Most of the time, anyway. There were some interesting rumors she heard that begged to differ.

"Why wasn't I informed of his heritage?"

Garp's Haki was sullen and sluggish - he wasn't going to talk anytime soon. Fantastic, she was on her own. Bastard.

Noir shrugged, nonchalant. "It didn't matter. Roger was dead. Ace was _supposedly_ dead." She sent a blistering glare at Garp, who didn't even have the decency to look apologetic. "The Purges succeeded. By the time I learned of my nephew's survival, the information wouldn't have changed anything. He was already a pirate."

"You enlisted before Roger's execution." Sengoku countered. "Yet you never _mentioned_ him."

Why the fuck did that matter? Roger was dead twenty years. "I joined after Roger contracted his incurable disease." Noir said. And, because she was getting irritable, she gave Sengoku a smirk and added, "Congrats, you executed a dying man."

"And what about your sister's relationship with the _King of the Pirates_?"

Rouge was her _sister_. Like _hell_ Noir would have ratted her out. Not to men who would have killed her for the sole crime of loving a pirate.

Admitting that right now would be stupid.

"It's near impossible for women in my family to bear children. Genetic scarring in the uterus." Noir said instead. She didn't want to tell them this, it wasn't something her family talked about to others. Before Rouge, the last Portgas woman to bear children was _fifteen_ generations ago. "When I learned Rouge was pregnant, I didn't think it was Roger's. It was too long after his execution. But I never thought she'd carry to term."

That she had, even after somehow holding and hiding her pregnancy for _twenty_ months, was nothing short of a miracle.

That was why the news of Rouge and Ace's deaths wasn't a surprise. Heartbreaking, yes, but not surprising. And why learning of Ace's survival, of Garp's lie, _hurt_ so much. Ace was the nephew Noir never thought she would have. The only child that Rouge or Noir would ever have. Garp robbed Noir of her family, of the chance to raise Ace as Rouge would have wanted. Noir and Rayleigh were to be Ace's godparents, for the Sea's sake!

Garp shrugged when Sengoku turned his glare on him. "It wasn't important."

Noir could practically see Sengoku's blood pressure rise with his temper. Normally Sengoku shouting at Garp was prime entertainment, but she didn't want to risk anyone overhearing the details of Ace's heritage. Sure, Sengoku's office doors were thick, but Noir wasn't keen on testing how well they were soundproofed. "Is that all?" She asked.

Sengoku's attention snapped back to her. "It is _not_." He snapped. "Who are you loyal to?"

She _bristled_. "If I was going to choose Ace over the Marines, I wouldn't have come back from my vacation." She snarled. Sengoku's doubt in her loyalty was _insulting_.

If she'd found Ace earlier, when he was still a child, Noir would have left. Between Ace and the Marines, Ace would have won every single time. But that hadn't happened. No, Noir found Ace when was already grown and making his way in the world. As much as it hurt to admit, Ace didn't _need_ Noir in his life. He might not even want her in his life.

But Noir's crew did need her. She wasn't referring solely to Sile either. Her crew was filled with broken people that did not fit with the rest of the Marines. While she didn't doubt that her crew would band together in her absence, Noir didn't know if they could survive the political machinations of the rest of the Admiral ranks. Noir's greatest asset to her crew was her ability to protect them from the political maneuvering.

And Noir had promised Sile. She wouldn't break that now.

"Can I go now?"

"No." Sengoku tossed a file to her across his desk. Noir opened it and was met with a series of dossiers. "The Iron Eye pirates crossed into the New World two weeks ago."

Iron Eye. Noir knew that name. Asaji "Iron Eye" Dominic exploded onto the Grand Line from North Blue, leaving a terrifying reputation for ruthless brutality in his wake. He was the kind of pirate Noir had joined the Marines to protect innocent civilians from.

Beside her, Garp was frozen, Haki radiating shock and concern.

Noir could see exactly why. She listened with half an ear as Sengoku detailed Dominic's past, speed reading through the information in the file. A Marine turned rogue, stealing the prototype Marine warship dubbed "Project Subjugation." A highly classified project, meant to create three warships for the Admirals capable of before unseen lethality.

Why the _fuck_ hadn't Sengoku sent an Admiral after the Iron Eye pirates yet? The stolen warship, the _Relentless_ , was an unparalleled warship, and Sengoku had allowed pirates to have that kind of uncontested firepower for over a year!

"What do you want me to do with this?" She asked. Noir could get her contacts to keep eyes and ears out for any other information, but-

"If you encounter them, I expect you to take them out."

Say _what_ now?!

Noir carefully did not react. That was the _stupidest_ fucking order she had ever heard in her _life_. It's not just stupid, it's Stupid - the kind of Stupid she'd tried to beat out of her own subordinates because it only led to early graves. Was Sengoku trying to kill her and her crew? The _Relentless_ against the _Akatokuro_? That wouldn't be any kind of contest.

 _Fuck that._

Noir was going to keep an ear out for the Iron Eye pirates, and if she heard so much as a _whisper_ , she was taking her crew in the opposite direction. She was not going to get her crew murdered.

She closed the file. "Anything else?"

"Dismissed."

* * *

 **Please Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I apologize for the long delay, amici. Real Life suddenly happened and shit got real and by the time I was done with the day I just wanted to curl up in bed and go to sleep.**

* * *

 _Seven of Cups, upright - Searching for purpose, choices, daydreaming_

* * *

 _September 1522_

For a total of seven people, the Straw Hats knew how to throw a party.

In celebration of escaping the Baroque Works agents, they'd broken out the alcohol. Ace sat back and listened and Luffy recounted the various adventures he'd had, with corrections provided by his crew at various points.

Ace had to hand it to his little brother; Luffy had an _interesting_ crew.

A swordsman with excellent taste in booze, who was both more level-headed and just as hopeless as Luffy in turns. A phenomenal navigator who was handling the weather around the desert island with ease despite admitting that she'd never seen a desert before. A sniper who Ace recognized as _Yasopp's_ kid and a damn good artist based on their jolly roger. One of the best chefs Ace had ever met (Thatch would have loved to trade recipes with him), and a doctor from _Drum_ that also happened to be an actual reindeer. And currently traveling with the princess of Alabasta and her duck-partner.

Only Luffy could find so many odd people.

"Where did you learn Haki, Lu?" Ace asked. That had come as a surprise during the alley fight. Ace didn't learn about Haki until he met Pops, and he still couldn't use it. Not on purpose, at least. According to Pops he'd used it during their first meeting, but Ace didn't know how to call it up. Which was damn frustrating.

From what Ace was hearing though, Luffy had learned Observation _and_ Armament Haki before he left Dawn Island. Something he hadn't known when Ace left.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked from where he was recounting his meeting with Don Krieg to Chopper. "Oh! Auntie Nola taught me!"

 _Auntie_ \- Since when did Shitty Gramps have another kid?! Fortunately, Ace's glass was empty because he was certain he was having a heart attack. Unless Nola was Luffy's maternal aunt? By the Sea, please let that be the case.

Nami frowned behind her sixth glass of alcohol. "Who is she? I remember you mentioned her to Buggy-" she shot Luffy a skeptical look, "he's not really your uncle, is he?"

Buggy as in Buggy the Clown? How the hell would anyone come to that conclusion? Luffy and Buggy looked nothing alike!

Ace's snort was drowned out by Luffy's enthusiastic explanation, "Bunny's Auntie Nola's brother like Ace is my brother! Which makes him Uncle Bunny because Ace is my brother and Nola is Ace's aunt!" He finished proudly.

There was a pause as everyone tried to follow Luffy's chain of logic, and Ace inhaled his refilled alcohol. If _Bunny_ was _Buggy_ , did that mean _Nola_ was-

"Do you mean _Noir_?" Ace rasped.

Luffy grinned, happy as a clam. "Shishishishi!"

Ace stared, because what? When the hell did Luffy meet Noir? _How_ did he meet Noir, and how the hell did he agree to get her to train him and let him call her _Auntie Nola_?

"Who's Noir?" Usopp asked, because Luffy could be scatterbrained at the best of times.

As confused as Ace was, he had to admit the reactions of Luffy's crew as he gushed about Noir continually kicking his ass were hilarious and the revelation of Noir's Rear Admiral rank even better.

"Vice Admiral." Ace corrected, smirking at the expressions of horror on Nami and Usopp's faces. "She got promoted a couple months back." _That_ had been hot gossip in the New World for a few weeks.

For the most part though, Ace let Luffy chatter about the woman who trained him. The same woman who grew up with Buggy and Shanks and the rest of the Roger Pirates. Ace… wasn't sure how to feel about that. Eventually, he left the kitchen. Sneaking out wasn't hard. He had plenty of practice sneaking around under his brothers' noses on the _Moby_ , and Luffy had his audience's attention well and truly captured.

Being outside was a relief. Staring out over the water, Ace tried to wrestle with his feelings on his aunt. Feelings he still hadn't sorted out three years after meeting her.

Shanks knew Noir - well enough to recognize the ace of spades Noir left behind. Ace still had that card, sitting in his pocket that very moment. Why, he didn't know, but every time he went to throw it away, he couldn't. It was stupid! Ace didn't know the woman or why she gave him the card in the first place!

Fuck, this was so much easier when he _didn't_ know he and Noir were related.

As lost in his thoughts as he was, Ace didn't miss the footsteps coming up behind him. Perks of surviving Vista's many pranks. He glanced over his shoulder to see Vivi, and mustered up a charming smile. "What's up?"

Alabasta's princess gazed at him, eyes warm. "I thought you might need someone to talk to." She said, coming to stand beside him at the railing. Ace frowned, feigning confusion. "I know you're bothered about your aunt, but you don't want to upset Luffy."

Ace resisted the urge to scowl. He didn't think he was so easy to read. Vivi shrugged. "I don't really know much." She admitted. "I've been undercover for two years, and Noir mostly works in the New World from what I've heard. If you need an unbiased ear, I'm willing."

His first urge was to tell Vivi to fuck off and mind her own business. Ace squashed it down before it could reach his tongue. Yes he was angry at Vivi poking her nose into his troubles, but that was no reason to be rude. Izo would not be pleased with him and the man was damn sneaky when he felt like getting revenge. And the Sixteenth Division Commander _would_ \- Izo was big on courtesy.

And to be honest, he could use an outside perspective. If three years wasn't enough time for Ace to work it out on his own, he doubted more time would help. What the hell, it couldn't hurt. He just wasn't sure where to start.

"Where ever is easiest," Vivi suggested, and whoops, Ace must have said that aloud.

But that was simple, at least. "I'm angry." Ace said. "I didn't know Noir existed until about three years ago." She was his aunt, but she didn't so much as mention that fact when they met. No, _Shanks_ was the one to tell him!

Vivi hummed. "Are Noir and Luffy your only relatives?" She asked, curiosity coloring her tone.

He'd had Sabo once. There was the usual pang of grief, thinking about his dead brother, but it was an old grief now. Dulled over the years. "Luffy's grandfather visited once every few years." He told her instead. Garp's record wasn't stellar, but it was a hell of a lot better than Noir's.

"So why does that make you angry?"

"It should be obvious." Ace snapped. Noir never once visited him as a kid, and if he hadn't ran into her by accident he doubted he would have met her at all. The air around him rippled, the temperature abruptly rising. Vivi's expression didn't twitch from it's serene calm, and Ace wrestled his temper back down. "Noir knew who I was on sight and didn't say anything about who she was. Yet she trained Luffy for most of a year and lets him call her 'Aunt.'"

Which… hurt. Go figure, that was pretty much his entire life. Ace shouldn't be surprised anymore.

He thought Noir was different. She knew Ace's heritage. Sure, she hated Roger, but everyone hated the Pirate King except for blockheads like Luffy. And losing a sister in the South Blue Purges because of Roger was a good reason to hate the man. Yet Noir didn't spew the same vitriol like everyone he'd ever asked, and she even told him not to listen to those who did. He'd been so _sure_ Noir hadn't hated him.

Noir was a better liar than Ace realized. Why abandon one nephew only to adopt another?

No, dammit. Ace was not going to feel sorry for himself. And he sure as hell wasn't going to ruin this for Luffy. Noir taught Luffy Haki, and Ace's idiot brother needed all the help he could get. The little green monster in his gut could _shut the hell up._

Ace was a Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. He had Pops and all his brothers.

He didn't _need_ Noir in his life.

Vivi straightened beside him, gaze fixed across the water and a smile on her face. "Nami!"

The redhead - when the hell did she get out on deck? - replied from where she stood at the helm. "I see it!" Ace followed Vivi's gaze to the river delta up ahead. That must be the entrance to the Sandora River. Soon enough Luffy and the rest of his crew joined them on deck. Vivi handed out robes to protect them from the desert sun, despite Sanji's dismay at Nami and Vivi covering their dancing outfits.

Ace hoisted his bag up on his shoulder.

"Aww, you're leaving already?" Luffy pouted up at him with wide brown eyes.

Ack! _Damn it, Sabo, why did you teach Luffy that?!_ Ace pulled the brim of his hat down to avoid the sea damned puppy eyes. "I've got my own adventure, Lu. Here," Ace fished out the small piece of Vivre Card and held it up in front of his little brother to distract him. "Hang on to this. It'll let me find you again."

No point explaining what it was beyond that. It'd go in one ear and out the other.

With one last grin, he leapt over the side of the ship onto _Striker_. A burst of fire later and he's speeding off over the waves, checking the Eternal Pose for Foolshout Island.

One of Jenae's contacts had given it to him with his most recent lead on Teach. Ace's sister in the Fourth Division had a surprising number of contacts. Enough that Ace suspected she might be part of an organized network.

Not that he cared, really. Pops probably knew about it already and Jenae's contacts had given him reliable information on Teach's whereabouts. Well, not counting Alabasta, but Jenae's contact on Drum hadn't been the one to give him that particular lead. Even with this set back, Ace was much closer to finding Teach than he was a month ago.

Ace grinned. He was catching up!

* * *

 _Crash_. "Fuck!"

"You need to move faster, brat."

Laid out on deck, Sile groaned. A series of bruises bloomed on his skin, including a spectacularly colorful one on his cheekbone from the blow that sent him crashing into the deck.

Kita helped the Devil Fruit user sit up. He prodded Sile a few times, eliciting another groan. "Anything broken?"

"I don't think so." Sile replied as pale fingers felt around his many sore spots. "Vice Admiral held back." He pouted.

His unruffled opponent gave the ropemaker a dry look. "I'll stop holding back when you get good enough to take it."

Not that Sile's combat skills were lacking, but skill was relative and Noir was very, very good. Of course, she had about two decades worth of experience on Sile, and another decade of combat training before that. Sile had less than a decade of experience and was adjusting to an unexpected late growth spurt that shot the eighteen-year-old to a whopping six foot eleven inches.

The brat was three inches taller than her now, Noir thought fondly.

Sin still grumbled about it. Sile's growth spurt never should have happened. With Sile's childhood malnourishment stunting his growth, growing six inches in as many months was not normal. Sin called it impossible.

Noir called it 'getting Garp-ed.' She'd gone through the same thing once. Poor Coby and Helmeppo were going through it now.

Sile just wanted to adjust to his new height already and stop tripping over everything and slamming his head on the door jambs. Noir suspected a bit of 'help' was involved with the latter. Probably from Chopsticks, Noir's mischievous carpenter. If Chopsticks was willing to risk whatever Sile came up with in revenge, that was their choice. Sile could be creative with he felt like it. Garp's month of training had done more than jumpstart Sile's growth - it gave Sile a backbone.

"Noir!" Rafi sang, waltzing out on deck. Noir eyed her Second Mate. More specifically, she eyed the grin on Rafi's face Noir knew to mean Rafi was having far too much fun riling someone up.

Since Rafi was supposed to be manning communications, Noir expected to get an angry note about Rafi's behaviour faxed over the den den in a day or two.

"Smokey's on the line." Rafi chirped. "He's asking for you, Vice Admiral."

Oh, that explained Rafi's glee. The Ink Logia loved riling up Smoker whenever she got the chance. "Cade, if you would?"

Cade grunted. The Armament Haki protecting the deck from Noir and Sile's free for all spar faded. The large man nudged Sile into a set of katas as Rafi and Noir headed towards the communications room.

"Smoker."

"Noir." The snail swiveled to pin her with a narrow eyed glare. "Are you aware Fire Fist is in Alabasta?"

Ace? Noir blinked. "No. I didn't know he wasn't with the other Whitebeards. Intelligence places them nowhere near Alabasta." Unless Intelligence was wrong, in which case more than a few heads would roll. Losing track of a Yonko was a massive fuck up.

"Well, he was here." Smoker grumped. "He showed up while I was chasing down Straw Hat. Speaking of - you could have _mentioned_ you taught your nephew Haki."

Noir frowned, opening her mouth to retort that she didn't teach Ace Haki, then closed it with a scowl. "Garp pissed me off. And Luffy is _not_ my nephew dammit!"

The snail paused to stare at Noir. Rafi broke the silence with a disbelieving, "Are you _whining_?"

"No." Noir said, ignoring the burning sensation in her ears.

Rafi snorted. Smoker sighed, and the snail closed it's eyes indicating Smoker was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Next time you pick a method of revenge," he said, " _don't_ teach a pirate Haki. Straw Hat is a Sea-damned _menace_."

She shouldn't grin at that. But it was nice to know that someone else was sharing in the misery she suffered for a year.

Noir paused, a stray detail finally catching her attention. Smoker was stationed in Loguetown when he first clashed with Luffy. If Smoker was in Alabasta _now,_ chasing _Luffy…_ "Did you pick up _Luffy_ as a _rival_?"

Grudging silence.

Noir laughed. "I didn't realize you admired Garp and I so much to emulate that particular trait, Smoker."

Rafi clapped a hand over her mouth to smother her snickers and the den den turned red. A moment later, the den den _clicked_ and returned to normal as Smoker hung up on the other end, and Rafi lost it.

Noir snorted. If Smoker hung up with only that little bit of teasing, he wasn't calling about anything important.

But what the hell was Ace doing in Alabasta?

* * *

 **Chapter 14 is in the works, so barring any _other_ unforeseen circumstances, it should be out next week.**

 **As always, please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Early chapter this week - my brother is in town until Saturday, so I don't know how much time I'll have to write. Chapter 15 is scheduled as normal for next Thursday.**

* * *

 _Page of Cups, reversed - Emotional immaturity, insecurity, disappointment_

* * *

 _One week later_

Buggy had been having a _nice_ day.

The day was nice, the crew was partying, and Buggy was planning to hunt down Straw Hat and teach him a lesson.

He did not like Straw Hat. The idiot had made a fool out of Buggy twice now. The fact the kid was wearing Captain's old hat didn't help. It only highlighted how similar the kid was to Roger and brought back memories of the time before everything went to shit.

Then Portgas D. Ace showed up.

If Straw Hat acted like Roger, then Ace was practically the man's clone. Every movement was a painful reminder of his old captain. There were bits of Rouge in his freckles and eye shape - but that wasn't helping.

And the brat _had_ to be a Sea-damned Whitebeard Pirate.

Buggy nearly had a heart attack at his crew's suggestion of collecting Ace's bounty. He didn't care that it was five times higher than Straw Hat's. He liked _living_ thank you very much! Forget about Whitebeard - if Buggy hurt Ace, Noir would kill him long before Whitebeard ever got around to doing it, oath of kinship be damned.

Of everyone still alive, Buggy knew best how dangerous Noir could be. Rouge trained both Buggy and Noir to wield daggers, giving Buggy an up close and personal look at Noir's combat abilities. On top of that, Buggy knew Rouge trained Noir in a hell of a lot of things Buggy had never been allowed to learn. Rouge may have looked and acted like a mild mannered heiress, but Buggy had never seen her lose a spar. Not even when Buggy, Noir, and Shanks teamed up and fought her at the same time. Captain never fought her, or anyone else on the crew, but Buggy had never been as confident as Shanks that Roger would have won if the two ever did fight.

Since Noir was promoted to Vice Admiral at 38 years old, Buggy would bet every last Beri to his name that Noir was every bit as skilled as Rouge.

So he wouldn't hunt down Noir and yell at her about Straw Hat's ridiculous name for him. He was not Straw Hat's uncle, and his name was _not_ Bunny! But Straw Hat wouldn't call him anything else, and Buggy _knew_ Noir was responsible.

Even Ace somehow found out about the blasted name, the smug brat!

Ace wasn't smirking at the moment. There was a pensive look on the brat's face that Buggy recognized. That had been a dangerous look to see on his captain's face. Roger never bothered to think too hard about things not happening in his immediate vicinity, preferring to leave that to Old Man Rayleigh. Roger wasn't the smartest blade in the armory, but the man could be surprisingly intuitive even before he started hearing the Voice of All Things.

Rouge on the other hand was as sharp as they came. You couldn't get anything past the woman. Buggy didn't know who Ace took after, but either way Buggy felt perfectly justified in the wary look he sent the brat.

"I didn't know you and Noir were siblings." Ace said. "Shanks never mentioned it." Silver eyes turned piercing, and Buggy forced himself not to look away. But damn it if Ace didn't remind him of Rouge just now.

He barked a laugh, deliberately scornful to hide how unsettled he felt. "That red haired bastard doesn't know as much about me and Noir as he thinks he does."

Buggy doubted Shanks knew half of what Rouge trained Noir to do. Or how fucked up Noir's mental state was.

Rouge hadn't exactly been a model of sanity either. People like Rouge and Noir were always a few baskets short of a picnic. Had to be, to be any good at their profession. The two women just hid it really well.

"We stuck together after my old captain died." Buggy said. No one else did. Shanks hared off and was causing a ruckus up and down the Grand Line a year later. The rest of the crew just… left. Buggy wasn't too proud to admit he still resented that. All the talk about them being nakama and they left Buggy and Shanks to fend for themselves. Sure, Shanks and Buggy knew what they wanted, had their dreams, but they'd only been fifteen.

Who the fuck listens to a fifteen year old? Fucking no one. Buggy had to lie about his age for years to get taken seriously.

Noir stayed. Hunted Buggy down a year after the execution to check that he was still kicking and refused to leave him alone. Buggy never thought Noir would honor the oath of kinship, but well, he'd forgotten how stubborn a Portgas could be.

They checked up on each other once in a while to make sure they were okay. Buggy saw Noir less than Shanks, but at least Noir wasn't trying to take Buggy's head off for stupid shit.

Then Noir got Buggy roped into the Net as a middling contact. It wasn't too bad. It helped him keep up with his kids without risking the Marines catching wind of them.

Ace mulled that over. Buggy let him think, refilling his alcohol and topping off his plate - letting his hands dance around the buffet table while he lounged in his seat. He missed swimming, but he couldn't deny his Devil Fruit came with definite perks.

"Why didn't Noir raise me?"

Oh, Buggy knew the answer to _that_ question. "She didn't know you survived the Purges, brat. Garp told her you died with your mother." Buggy had no reservations throwing Garp under the keel there. He was pissed at Roger's old rival for keeping Noir from her own family.

Ace whipped his head around to stare at Buggy. "Shitty Gramps? What- Why would he do that?"

"He's a Marine." Buggy replied. "A Vice Admiral. It's his job to hold onto any and all resources he can, and at the time, Noir was the only Marine with Conqueror's Haki."

That was what Buggy was able to deduce at least, based on Noir's grumbles after her promotion last year and the fact Noir had been a well known Marine even as a mere captain. The Marines having someone with Conqueror's Haki caused a ruckus twenty years back. Noir's brat popping with the ability a year back gave half the underworld heart attacks.

"If Noir knew back then you survived, she would have left the Marines in a heartbeat."

He didn't believe Buggy. Somewhat insulting, this was Buggy's sister they were talking about, but from what Noir told Buggy, Ace's issues had issues. Issues didn't inspire trust.

Ace crossed his arms, and that was the Portgas stubbornness glinting in his eyes. _Lovely_. Getting Noir to accept something she didn't want to hear was a pain in the ass. Buggy had the sinking feeling Ace would be worse. "Why didn't Noir tell me she was my aunt when we first met? Shanks was the one to tell me."

Oh for _fuck's_ sake, Noir.

Buggy pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't a therapist dammit! "You remind her of Rouge." He said, trying to think past the sheer exasperation caused by these two. The idiots needed to _talk,_ damn it all. "They were close."

Ace's expression was every inch skepticism. So Buggy shoved a photo in his face.

Buggy didn't have to look to know which photo it was. Ace was frozen, staring at the two women - one blonde, the other with a touch of red - smirking at the camera and looking so similar they couldn't be anything but sisters.

"This is my mom?" Ace asked quietly.

"And your pain in the ass aunt." Buggy said. He studiously ignored how Ace's gaze remained riveted to the photo, as though he'd never seen anything like it before.

Wait. He probably hadn't. What were the chances Garp had any photos of Rouge, much less gave them to Ace?

From Ace's expression, Buggy was going to guess it was a solid fucking zero.

Fuck it, he was such a bleeding heart.

He pushed the photo back at Ace when the brat tried to return it. "Keep it, brat. I've got plenty." He lied. Buggy only had a couple. But he could give up one for his captain's son. Brat had better take care of it though.

Enough mushy crap. "What's a Whitebeard doing in this stretch of Paradise?" The Net kept track of the general location of each Yonko, and Whitebeard's last known location was nowhere near here. Unless the old codger found a way to travel like the red haired bastard, Whitebeard still wasn't anywhere close.

For a moment, Ace scrutinized him, trying to determine if Buggy had any ulterior motive behind the question. Which, there wasn't. Not really. Sure, Noir would like to know what trouble her nephew was getting into. But it was rare to see a lone Whitebeard Pirate, much less a lone Commander.

Buggy was curious. Sue him.

Finally, Ace dropped the suspicious look. "Ah, I'm looking for someone. I was told Jumishat could help me."

 _What_.

Coughing, Buggy tried to mop up most of the alcohol he spilled. He knew that name. That was the codename for one of the Net _managers_. How the hell did Ace get the contact information for a _Rank 7?!_

"Who gave you that name?!" He demanded. "Jumishat doesn't talk to just anyone." Anyone looking for high level agents of the Net without advance notice from another agent never found who they were looking for. The rest of the Net would have them running in circles until they gave up or encountered a more lethal discouragement.

The folded paper Ace dug out of his pocket was well worn. The pink seal was broken, and the creases in the paper were close to tearing. Regardless, it was an authentic letter of introduction from an agent 'Klaris' of the Net.

Buggy was _not_ pleased.

Klaris was a Rank 2. They had no business telling anyone outside the Net of their existence without permission from the higher ranks.

He handed the letter back. "Klaris shouldn't have done that." He said to Ace's wary look. The Net had to be downright paranoid with who they trusted. They were protecting innocent families. Innocent _kids_. None of them wanted a second Purge - a second Baterilla.

With an explosive sigh, Buggy let it go. He couldn't change what Klaris had done, and Ace was obviously approved for making use of the Net's gathered information. He'd be dead by now if he wasn't, no matter what kind of retribution Noir or Whitebeard would deal out in return.

Still, he'd make sure to drop a quick report about this. _Someone_ clearly needed a reminder of Net protocols before they received a visit from someone like Noir.

* * *

 **Same deal as always, amici - the more reviews, the sooner the next chapter comes out. Let me know your favorite part of the chapter! I'm always curious what you all like the most about my writing.**

 **Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**It's probably still Wednesday for a good chunk of y'all, but it's ten past midnight where I am so it's technically Thursday.**

* * *

 _Two of Cups, reversed - Imbalance, broken communication, tension_

* * *

 _Late September 1522_

"Relax. We aren't looking for a fight."

Rafi eyed the table of scruffy pirates across the room, getting a number of suspicious looks back. "Do they know that?"

Noir swirled her rum, keeping a part of her Haki focused on the pirates behind her. "Sile will handle any idiots." The _Akatokuro_ outmanned and outgunned the pirates' ship. Anyone trying to start something would have to be phenomenally stupid. "Iron Eye Pirates are aggressive, not suicidal."

Asaji Dominic had a damn fleet at his command now. He was making use of it too. Both Kaido and Big Mom wanted Iron Eye's head on a platter for how many times Dominic had raided their ships.

At least the menace hadn't acquired another Marine warship. The _Relentless_ was more than enough.

The particular Iron Eye ship currently docked on the other side of the harbor from the _Akatokuro_ was a modified merchant frigate. The _Akatokuro_ outclassed it so much it wasn't funny. Noir could blow them out of the water and only have a scratched paint job as a souvenir.

"I'd rather not have to deal with a pissed off Iron Eye." Rafi huffed. "Whitebeard could take lessons from him in disproportionate punishment, and Dominic doesn't let 'self defense' stop him from killing everyone in revenge. Someone needs to sign him up for anger management lessons."

"You have no room to judge."

"I'm perfectly aware I'm fucked in the head. But even _I'm_ not _that_ bad."

Noir fixed Rafi with an unimpressed look. Rafi was absolutely as bad. The Ink Logia only cared about her people. Anyone else burning at the stake? Rafi would break out the marshmallows and lead a campfire sing-a-long. Noir read the report from after she got shot. Torturing a dozen men while cheerfully humming was rather _tame_ for Rafi.

Wait, was that-?

"Sunshine!"

Yes it was.

Noir ignored Rafi's snickers and patted the arms constricting around her chest. "Always a pleasure, Keili."

Fingers brushed over the scar on Noir's chest, and Noir suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine. "Oh?" Keili asked, voice light despite her Haki curling in murderous displeasure. "Who gave you this beauty, Sunshine?"

"Are you here for a reason? Or just saying hello?" Noir asked. Not that Keili would let the question distract her. But Noir's refusal to give a name would be answer enough for Keili. If the woman managed to find out who it was Noir would be grateful.

Keili grinned, a flash of white teeth against ebony dark skin. "Who says it can't be both, Sunshine? We can always indulge in a bit of fun for old times' sake."

Rafi smirked as Noir remembered how to breathe steadily. "Got room for another, gorgeous?"

Noir pinched the bridge of her nose as Keili gave Rafi an appreciative look over. She wasn't surprised her ex-girlfriend and her Second Mate found each other highly attractive, the two women met each other's standards. Rather, Rafi met Keili's standards. Rafi's standards fluctuated between 'living, humanoid, and not a complete asshole,' and 'moderately attractive with matching personality.'

"We are on a deadline." Noir reminded Rafi. It didn't matter Keili and Rafi both met Noir's standards or that both women were willing. Noir and Keili had ended their relationship for a reason and Noir didn't do one night stands. And Rafi was Noir's _subordinate_. Any relationship would be unequal and Noir _refused_ to abuse her position of power like that.

The _Akatokuro_ was transporting prisoners to Impel Down. Normally they'd hand them off to another ship at the Red Line, but Noir needed to be at Marine Headquarters to evaluate the next batch of transfers to her crew in the wake of an unexpected pirate crew with too many Devil Fruit users.

Noir personally killed the captain who thought running from her would do any good. Fucker liked razing civilian towns and getting the attention of the Marines for a higher bounty. The captain had hoped the added notoriety would fain the attention of one of the Yonko. Now all the attention he was getting was from ocean scavengers. Sengoku ordered the rest of the crew delivered to Impel Down.

Noir didn't agree, but she had never liked the Great Prison. Still, orders were orders and this time she could hand the duty off to Cade.

"Then we should get to business."

Rafi jerked away from the woman suddenly standing next to her. Ignoring Rafi as the younger woman turned the air blue, Noir pushed a chair out for the newcomer to sit.

She was _tiny_. Not even five feet tall, which put her four inches shorter than Rafi. But where Rafi's curves made her look taller than she really was, this woman was the definition of petite. Black hair coiled into a sleek knot framed tanned skin and sharp silver eyes helped balance out the youthful first impression given by her stature.

Noir swiftly hid her surprise at the presence of a Rank 10 - one of the Net's two _leaders_. "'Adamas.'"

'Adamas' nodded at Noir. She smirked at a sour faced Rafi. "Rafi is it? How do you feel about activities of dubious legality and giving the middle finger to the World Government?"

Rafi choked on her drink. Keili snickered and Noir sighed. "I do need my Second Mate alive, 'Adamas.'"

"She's survived you for years." 'Adamas' sniffed. "A surprise or two won't kill her."

Keili slapped Rafi on the back. "Come on, dearie. Here you go."

Rafi accepted the offered napkin, wiping at her face and coughing a few more times. "Vice Admiral?" She rasped.

"Do you want to be an informant?" Noir clarified for her. "Passing on information, nothing else."

Blue eyes flicked between Noir, Keili, and 'Adamas.' "They aren't _your_ contacts." Rafi realized. "This is an organized network, isn't it? Those slavers a year back - that was a _mission_."

Noir smirked. _There_ was the razor sharp intelligence Rafi possessed. Rafi didn't use it much, so most people forgot Rafi wasn't as airheaded as she seemed.

"Why me?"

"Sengoku promised to let Sile stay under my command if I become an Admiral." Noir explained. It wasn't a guaranteed thing, Noir knew. The Gorosei has to approve Sengoku's eventual nomination of Aokiji as Fleet Admiral and then Aokiji had to promote her to replace him as Admiral. It was still Noir's best shot at protecting Sile. "I'm already having to leave the _Akatokuro_ under Cade's command as I get called away more often. There will come a point where I can't command the crew on a day to day basis."

Cade would take over command permanently, as a Rear Admiral if Sengoku got his way. Rafi might get a promotion and a crew of her own. Either way, Rafi would be well placed as an informant with far more freedom of movement than Noir.

Rafi scrutinized Noir for a moment, then grinned. "Sounds fun." She paused. "You do have something to tell Cade, right? 'Cause I'm not you, Noir."

"I'll handle it." Cade knew about the Net - had for almost as long as they'd known each other. Noir had worried about telling him. He was a damn good First Mate and she hadn't wanted to kill him if he took it badly.

He'd taken it better than expected - not that the bar had been set all that high. He reasoned that The Net wasn't looking to tear down the World Government like the Revolutionary Army. The Net protected the children borne of pirates and criminals, as well as escaped slaves. People who the World Government should protect but didn't, because the World Government refused to see them as _people_.

"Keili, handle protocol." 'Adamas' ordered. "I need to talk with Noir."

"Come on, dearie. Let's go get drinks."

Rafi glanced at Noir, and followed Keili to another booth after Noir jerked her head. Once the two women were out of earshot, Noir carefully threaded Conqueror's Haki through the room. Not the wave of willpower that sent people into unconsciousness, no. Just a touch, to impress upon everyone in the room that Noir and 'Adamas' weren't worth paying attention to.

"So are you 'Adamas' or Cirra at the moment?" Noir wondered.

The woman snorted. "Cirra, please. This is only peripheral to The Net."

Noir narrowed her eyes. If _Cirra_ was talking to _Noir_ , and not ' _Adamas'_ to ' _Nilama,'_ then… "Is this about your brother?"

And Cirra _grinned_ , a wide D grin as wild as any of Roger's. "Dear little Ace has been causing quite a ruckus. The family is curious." Of course they were. Curious as cats, all of them. Same as Roger. "The kids want to meet their uncle."

Noir froze. _No_.

The thought came with such clarity that for a moment Noir believed she'd spoken aloud.

"Noir?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea." Noir admitted slowly. She pushed back the visceral reaction, trying to pick apart what had set her instincts off like a klaxon.

Cirra said nothing as Noir pulled her thoughts together.

"Ace hates Roger." By the Sea, did Ace hate him. Noir had no doubt if Ace met Roger that he would try to kill the man. "But more than that, Ace hates himself because he's Roger's kid." What fate can the child of a monster have, but to become a monster himself?

Damn civilians. Damn Garp.

"You think Ace would hate us by extension?" Cirra asked. No disbelief - Cirra knew hatred wasn't logical.

"I don't know." Ace could see his siblings and nieces and nephews as reminders of Roger and loathe them for it. Or he could see it as proof that being Roger's kid didn't make him a monster and come out better for it. "I don't want to risk it."

Not when the World Government had no inkling of their existence. One slip of the tongue could bring another Purge - only the government wouldn't limit it to South Blue.

Of Roger's children, only Ace had become a pirate, which was caused by circumstance more than anything. Vie bred Den Den Mushis for a living and her eleven year old daughter wanted to breed birds to start a civilian postal service! Cirra's grandson Nimbus was four months old for Sea's sake!

But due to Roger's blood in their veins and that they protected others with pirate heritage, the World Government would slaughter them all.

Noir could possibly see how someone might justify a Buster Call. But this? Never.

Cirra nodded in acceptance. "Have you heard what Ace has been up to?"

Other than sending half The Net into conniption fits? Buggy had _bitched_ about Ace having 'Jumishat's' contact information, and that a damn Rank 2 had been the one to give it to him. Ace didn't even know the headaches he was causing.

Noir felt justified in the wary look she gave Cirra. "No."

"The Whitebeards' 4th Division Commander got himself murdered by another Whitebeard." Cirra said. "From Ace's Division no less."

Well damn. "The man Jenae had her eye on? Thatch?" The pirate kids liked to keep up on each other's lives, and Jenae was as free a spirit as any Child of the Sea. That she was considering settling down and retiring for _anyone_ had come as a surprise.

Cirra hummed. "Yeah. Marshall D. Teach is now _persona non grata_ with the Whitebeards. Ace is taking it rather personally. He's been hunting 'Blackbeard' on his own for months now."

That _blithering idiot_. What did he think he was, a one man army? "Is The Net responding?"

"No." Cirra said. "Klaris reported the murder was over a Devil Fruit. We're keeping an eye on things, but there's no indication that Blackbeard is aware of us or our charges."

Well, some good news at least.

"Of course, you should probably know Blackbeard tried to cash in on Straw Hat's bounty."

"I _beg your pardon?_ " Blackbeard went after _Luffy_?

Belatedly, Noir realized she'd bared her teeth in a snarl and _hissed_ at Cirra. Cirra blinked at Noir, and Noir wrestled her temper back under control.

"Your nephew is fine." Cirra said once Noir had released her death grip on her glass. "He lost him outside Jaya. According to 'Saffron', he was asking about the Sky Islands and talking to Montblanc Cricket."

Noir rubbed a hand over her face. "Luffy's not my nephew."

Cirra gave Noir a look that clearly called bullshit, but didn't say anything. Noir was grateful for that - she didn't feel up to arguing about it at the moment.

"It's okay to get attached." Cirra said. And nope nope _nope_ , Noir didn't want to have this conversation either. "Everyone needs bonds."

"I have bonds."

"Name five outside your crew - and yes, Smoker counts." Noir looked away, her sullen silence answer enough. Cirra sighed. "It's alright to _care_ , Noir."

Noir shook her head. "I'm not going to open myself up to more pain, Cirra." Noir'd had enough for a lifetime. She wasn't going to invite the world to throw more her way.

Haki signatures congregating on the _Akatokuro_ \- her crew was ready to go. "Until next time."

"Do try to keep in touch."

* * *

 **Alright, one last chapter for the set, scheduled for next week! The more reviews, the sooner it comes out! I haven't decided if I'm going to jump into planning the last set right away, or switch over to one of my other stories for a bit. I'll let you know next week.**

 **Let me know what your favorite part was! Or any predictions you've got (I live for those, amici. Makes me grin to see all the guesses, right or wrong).**

 **Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I decided to post this early since it's the last chapter of the set. I've decided I'm going to finish this story before I switch over to something else, so I'll be taking a short break to figure out how the last eight chapters are going to go and write them up.**

 **Another important announcement! There will be a sequel! It will be called A Shot Across the Bow, and I'll start working on it after I finish Deep Blue Sea, though I don't know when I'll start posting. For those of you following this story, I will post a short notice announcing when I've posted the first chapter so don't worry about missing it.**

* * *

 _The Devil, reversed - Freedom, release, restoring control_

* * *

 _Mid October 1522_

 _Puru puru puru puru._ _Puru puru puru-_

 _Click_. "Speaking."

"Noir."

Aokiji? "Why are you calling this number?" This was Noir's private den den, paid for out of her own pocket and kept in her office instead of the comms room. "How did you get this number?" Very few people knew this number, and Noir was certain Aokiji didn't know most of them.

"Garp." Noir sighed in frustration. She needed a new den den if Garp was just handing that information out. Who else had he told? She liked this den den dammit. Her crew had painted a queen of clubs and queen of spades on the sides of its shell for her birthday. They were going pitch a fit over this.

She'd gift it to the crew to make personal calls on. That way Orion's artistic skills wouldn't go unappreciated.

"What can I do for you, Admiral?"

"Is this line secure?"

"Yes." Noir always had a white den den attached. Too many of the conversations she had over this line were conversations she did not want a black den den picking up on - even by accident. That cost her another pretty beri, but Vie was the only person outside the World Government to breed them, and Vie didn't care that Noir used it to catch up with Buggy along with using it for Net business.

That Vie bred anything other than the regular communication and visual den den mushis was one of The Net's most guarded secrets.

"Have you heard about Enies Lobby?" Aokiji asked. Noir frowned. Did she hear _cheering_ in the background? Where was he?

"Sengoku reamed me out." That had been an ear splitting conversation.

Luffy had broken into one of the three Marine strongholds and declared war on the _World Government_. Not only did he rescue his crewmate from CP9, but escaped a sea-damned _Buster Call_.

This was why Noir had grey hairs.

Aokiji hummed. "Nico Robin has picked Straw Hat as an anchor."

Noir's breath caught in her throat. That - that was fantastic news.

She remembered Robin from Ohara. After the Ohara Incident Noir had followed Robin's movements. She'd despaired when Robin delved into assassin work, yet failed to find an anchor again and again.

It seemed counterintuitive, but Rouge always insisted on it. They were assassins, damn good ones at that. Anchors, good anchors, kept them human. Kept them from retreating so far into themselves that they couldn't come back out. Kept them from devolving and taking everyone else with them.

After four years with Baroque Works, Noir had hoped Robin had found one. Not the best, all things considered, but one that would keep her stable. But she'd jumped ship again, landing with Luffy and then Noir could no longer deny the threat Robin had become.

Noir knew Aokiji intended to hunt Robin down. She provided the information to lead him to Long Ring Long Land and quietly mourned the little eight year old girl covered in ash.

Only it seemed Luffy had pulled off a miracle and done what no one else managed in twenty years.

"You've spoken with her?" Noir knew Aokiji - no, Kuzan. This wasn't the hardened Admiral. This was the man who let a little girl live because she was all that remained of his best friend.

"Yeah." Kuzan said. "She's… settled in herself. Happy."

Noir let out a breathless laugh. That was great. Better than great. She smiled, wide and carefree and happy in a way she hadn't felt for years. "I'm glad."

She shouldn't be. Thousands of Marines and their families _died_ in the Buster Call on Enies Lobby. Noir should be angry. Noir should _care_. But she learned a long time ago that she couldn't protect everyone who needed it. Caring about them, no matter how much she wanted to, only hurt her in the long run.

Noir had _told_ Makino - she wasn't a good person. Noir would have to live with that.

* * *

"Commodore." Cade paused, turning to Lieutenant Commander Sin. The doctor glanced towards the door. "A word, if you will?"

Cade obliged the unsaid request for privacy and closed the door to the doctor's office. He took a seat next to the tiny desk and waited for the older man to order his thoughts. The doctor did not appreciate being rushed outside of a legitimate emergency and preferred getting things right the first time.

So Cade said nothing as the doctor shuffled through the papers on his desk, a frown creasing his brow.

"The Vice Admiral is currently seated in the figurehead." Dr. Sin said. Lips turned down in an expression of displeasure. "Her Haki indicates a level of distress. According to evidence, you are best suited to address this."

Cade nodded shortly, reaching out with his Observation Haki. Nothing from the figurehead, but if the Vice Admiral was cloaking herself in Conqueror's Haki Dr. Sin was the only crew member capable of seeing through it.

Cade would have to trust Dr. Sin's senses, no matter how much his own insisted no one was on the figurehead. "How long has she been there?" Cade hadn't seen the Vice Admiral since lunch.

The doctor consulted a slip of paper covered in hasty scribbles. "First noted distress at 1433 hours two days ago. Levels were not significantly elevated and behaviour was not affected. At 0913 hours today distress levels rose and the Vice Admiral retreated to the figurehead at 1607 hours, drawing on her Haki shortly after. Distress levels have remained unchanged from this morning."

The Vice Admiral had been sitting there for almost five hours. Cade sighed. Dr. Sin was a brilliant medical professional and surgeon - saving Noir's life last year proved _that_ \- but the man had the annoying tendency to get so caught up studying his patients that he forgot to help them. At least Kita was able to remind him most of the time. "If this happens again, please inform me if the Vice Admiral hides for more than two hours."

Dr. Sin nodded and made a note under his observations. Conversation over, Cade let himself out of the office and went searching for the Vice Admiral.

Sure enough, Cade couldn't see or sense anyone on the figurehead. He forged forwards regardless, taking care not to trip over the Vice Admiral by accident. She could swim, but Cade couldn't and he didn't feel like imitating a dropped hammer.

Then the Vice Admiral was _there_ , knees pulled up under her chin and blank gaze fixed on the horizon.

Cade settled behind the Vice Admiral, resting back-to-back. He didn't say anything, instead letting the silence persist. The Vice Admiral ignored him and continued to look out over the horizon.

He knew better than to think he could gauge the Vice Admiral's mood. Not when she was masking it. She could be incandescently furious and her Haki would be as smooth as when she was calm and content.

From what Sin said, the Vice Admiral would let the silence stretch for another couple hours if Cade didn't say anything.

"What's bothering you?" The Vice Admiral might be grumpy with him for pressing the issue, but she wouldn't take it out on him.

Cade felt the Vice Admiral shrug. "It's nothing much."

'Nothing much' didn't elicit this kind of reaction. "It's enough."

She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Should you talk about it?" Which was what the Vice Admiral had asked Rafi years back when the Logia first joined the crew. Rafi's temper had resulted in a number of minor fights and one beatdown that left the other Marine in Sin's care for three days.

The Vice Admiral growled. "Don't quote my own words back at me."

"Of course, Vice Admiral."

He lapsed back into silence as the Vice Admiral simmered. Slight downside, she was angrier than expected. He could get a read on her Haki now, so Cade would take a tentative win for now.

Observation Haki was not Cade's specialty. He could sense if someone was nearby. If he was close enough, he could get a basic feel of their emotions. Useful to see if someone was trying to kill him or not.

This close to the Vice Admiral, he could sense more than usual. She was angry, but that was turning to resignation.

Patience, then. She'd talk when she was ready, now that she'd decided to talk.

"Did you read about Enies Lobby?"

Cade grunted. The news about the attack on the Judiciary stronghold sent the crew into a furor. Cade wasn't impressed with the article. Lots of sensation, but little information of actual use. A gloriously written piece of propaganda that wasn't fit to manure a garden.

What information was there told Cade that multiple criminal groups fought their way past the island's defenses and escaped the Buster Call led by Vice Admiral Strawberry.

The paper claimed the criminals tried to breach the Gates of Justice, but Cade privately doubted that. There was nothing beyond the Gates valuable enough that criminals would risk attacking the headquarters of CP9.

Listening to the Vice Admiral detail the actual events of the attack, Cade realized he would have to revise that thought.

As she spoke, Cade wrapped his Devil Fruit power around them. An added layer of security - with the Vice Admiral's Haki cloaking them no one was close enough to eavesdrop. But this way the sound wouldn't travel beyond their immediate area.

There was something the Vice Admiral wasn't saying.

"I taught Luffy Haki." Ah, that would be it. "And then Luffy used those skills to declare war on the World Government."

"You don't care about the World Government." Cade pointed out dryly. No one on the Akatokuro cared all that much. They were the troublemakers of the Corps. The ones who hated the Celestial Dragons and would cheerfully shove them off a cliff if they thought they could get away with it. The only reason the Marines hadn't kicked them out was because they were all good enough and crazy enough to follow the Vice Admiral against a Yonko.

The Vice Admiral huffed, sounding amused despite herself. "I'm not exactly a good person, Cade. I try, but my childhood didn't instill an inclination for the moral high ground. What little I've got is probably because of Garp."

"Did you know how Straw Hat was going to use the skills you taught him?"

"I knew he was going to become a pirate."

Damn it, Vice Admiral.

Deep breath. He was not judge, jury, and executioner, and Cade refused to become so. It wasn't right for someone to hold that much power, not when no one could ever be completely objective.

And Cade knew the Vice Admiral. She must have had a reason. "Why did you teach him? Beyond getting revenge on Vice Admiral Garp."

"It was revenge at first." The Vice Admiral admitted. "But the brat grows on you. Like a fungus." She added grudgingly. Cade withheld a snort. Yeah, he knew a couple people like that.

A moment passed in good natured silence. The Vice Admiral broke it. "Luffy has a good heart. Don't get me wrong," she said as Cade's eyebrows shot to his hairline, "Luffy is as selfish as any pirate. But the reason he is a pirate, the reason he wants to be Pirate King, is for the freedom."

Cade blinked, considering the odd note to the Vice Admiral's tone. She sounded... proud, like she did when she talked about her scamp of a ropemaker.

Of course she would adopt a pirate. He didn't know why he was surprised. "He sounds like a good kid."

"It doesn't change the death toll."

"Enies Lobby is not your fault." Cade said firmly. The Vice Admiral felt was right and wrong differently than other people. She _knew_ the high death toll was wrong, knew someone had to be held accountable for it, but she didn't truly _care._ And somehow, someone had given her the idea that she was to blame.

Cade knew his worth to the Vice Admiral went beyond his duties as her First Mate. Two days after he transferred to her command, two days after she'd asked _why_ he'd chosen her, the Vice Admiral had decided his morals were worth following. It didn't matter she didn't believe in the morals herself. She'd chosen Cade as her First Mate because she knew he would hold her to them. Knew he would keep her from slipping off the edge.

He did not appreciate someone else fucking that up. "You are not responsible for this, Vice Admiral."

The Vice Admiral couldn't quite crane her neck to glare at him. She settled for glaring at the horizon.

"Straw Hat could not have killed everyone who died. Not even with Haki." Cade insisted. It was doubtful the kid would have killed them. From all reports, Straw Hat was not a killer. Not on purpose. "The ones responsible are Spandam and the Vice Admirals who executed the Buster Call."

Cade would like to have _words_ with Admiral Aokiji about that. He was the one to give authorization to Spandam, but a Buster Call to eliminate a mere handful of people was not an appropriate response!

"You aren't going to let me feel guilty about this." The Vice Admiral guessed.

"No." Cade confirmed. "There is plenty of blame to go around. It's not fair to everyone else if you hoard it all." She barked out a laugh at that, and her Haki loosened, _finally_. "I don't fault you for teaching Straw Hat either."

"You don't?"

Straw Hat would've been, what, fifteen at the time the Vice Admiral taught him? Sixteen at most. Still a kid, and the Red Line would collapse before Vice Admiral Garp won any parenting awards.

"He was a kid. I don't blame you for trying to protect him the only way you could." He heaved himself to his feet. "That's what family's supposed to do."

He ambled off while the Vice Admiral thought his words over. But he kept his Devil Fruit power focused backwards.

Wait for it…

" _He's not my nephew dammit!_ "

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 **As always, please leave reviews! I cannot stress how much hearing from all of you gives me motivation and excitement to write. Even if it's only a few words.**


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